Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Arabidopsis SHY2/IAA3 Inhibits Auxin-Regulated Gene Expression Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at www.plantcell.org/cgi/doi/10.1105/tpc.010283.

In Arabidopsis, SHY2 encodes IAA3, a member of the auxin-induced Aux/IAA family. Gain-of-function mutations in SHY2/IAA3 cause enlarged cotyledons, short hypocotyls, and altered auxin-regulated root development. Here we show that the gain-of-function mutation shy2-2 decreases both the induction and repression of auxin-regulated genes, suggesting that SHY2/IAA3 acts as a negative regulator in auxin signaling. shy2-2 affects auxin induction of many previously characterized primary response genes, implying that it might repress primary auxin responses. In addition, shy2-2 also affects expression of multiple auxin-nonresponsive genes. Light regulates expression of SHY2/IAA3, suggesting a possible link between light and auxin response pathways.
Brief report: a confirmatory approach to exploring the factor structure of the social consequences of pain questionnaire.

OBJECTIVE Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the factor structure of the Social Consequences of Pain (SCP) questionnaire in youth referred for specialty pain treatment. The existing four-factor structure (i.e., Positive Attention, Negative Attention, Activity Restriction, Privileges) was compared to an alternate three-factor structure merging Positive Attention and Privileges into a single scale (Favorable Consequences). METHODS Participants were 373 youth (aged 8-18 years) with chronic pain referred to a tertiary pain clinic. Most participants presented with pain in the head, abdomen, legs, or back. Participants completed the SCP questionnaire at or before an intake appointment. RESULTS Both three-factor and four-factor solutions were acceptable. The three-factor solution emerged as preferable due to stronger internal consistencies. CONCLUSIONS Findings support the validity of the SCP for the assessment of social consequences in diverse presentations of pediatric chronic pain.
A new method for the continuous monitoring of blood glucose by measurement of dissolved oxygen.

Glucose concentration may be determined enzymatically by a glucose-oxidase procedure in which the amount of oxygen depletion from a solution saturated with oxygen is observed. The difference between the initial and final oxygen levels as detected by a polarographic oxygen analyzer is a measure of glucose concentration. Blood is sampled continuously by means of a double-lumen catheter inserted into an arm vein and connected to the flow system. A peristaltic proportioning pump then propels glucose-oxidase reagent and the blood-heparin mixture through a dialyzer. The reagent-dialysate mixture passes through a 1-min. delay coil before passing to the polarographic oxygen sensor. Glucose concentration is proportional to the oxygen depletion in the mixture flowing past the sensor. The studies outlined in this paper describe work directed towards the development of a miniature system intended for continuous monitoring and control of blood-glucose level.
Size Reduction in Early European Domestic Cattle Relates to Intensification of Neolithic Herding Strategies

Our analysis of over 28,000 osteometric measurements from fossil remains dating between c. 5600 and 1500 BCE reveals a substantial reduction in body mass of 33% in Neolithic central European domestic cattle. We investigate various plausible explanations for this phenotypic adaptation, dismissing climatic change as a causal factor, and further rejecting the hypothesis that it was caused by an increase in the proportion of smaller adult females in the population. Instead we find some support for the hypothesis that the size decrease was driven by a demographic shift towards smaller newborns from sub-adult breeding as a result of intensifying meat production strategies during the Neolithic.
Unique Biologic Properties of Recombinant AAV1 Transduction in Polarized Human Airway Epithelia*

The choice of adeno-associated virus serotypes for clinical applications is influenced by the animal model and model system used to evaluate various serotypes. In the present study, we sought to compare the biologic properties of rAAV2/1, rAAV2/2, and rAAV2/5 transduction in polarized human airway epithelia using viruses purified by a newly developed common column chromatography method. Results demonstrated that apical transduction of human airway epithelia with rAAV2/1 was 100-fold more efficient than rAAV2/2 and rAAV2/5. This transduction profile in human airway epithelia (rAAV2/1 ≫ rAAV2/2 = rAAV2/5) was significantly different from that seen following nasal administration of these vectors to mouse lung (rAAV2/5 > rAAV2/1 ≫ rAAV2/2), emphasizing differences in transduction of these serotypes between these two species. In stark contrast to rAAV2/2 and rAAV2/5, rAAV2/1 transduced both the apical and basolateral membrane of human airway epithelia with similar efficiency. However, the overall level of transduction across serotypes did not correlate with vector internalization. We hypothesized that differences in post-entry processing of these serotypes might influence the efficiency of apical transduction. To this end, we tested the effectiveness of proteasome inhibitors to augment nuclear translocation and gene expression from the three serotypes. Augmentation of rAAV2/1 apical transduction of human polarized airway epithelia was 10-fold lower than that for rAAV2/2 and rAAV2/5. Cellular fractionation studies demonstrated that proteasome inhibitors more significantly enhanced rAAV2/2 and rAAV2/5 translocation to the nucleus than rAAV2/1. These results demonstrate that AAV1 transduction biology in human airway epithelia differs from that of AAV2 and AAV5 by virtue of altered ubiquitin/proteasome sensitivities that influence nuclear translocation.
Comparison of Short-Term Estrogenicity Tests for Identification of Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals

The aim of this study was to compare results obtained by eight different short-term assays of estrogenlike actions of chemicals conducted in 10 different laboratories in five countries. Twenty chemicals were selected to represent direct-acting estrogens, compounds with estrogenic metabolites, estrogenic antagonists, and a known cytotoxic agent. Also included in the test panel were 17β-estradiol as a positive control and ethanol as solvent control. The test compounds were coded before distribution. Test methods included direct binding to the estrogen receptor (ER), proliferation of MCF-7 cells, transient reporter gene expression in MCF-7 cells, reporter gene expression in yeast strains stably transfected with the human ER and an estrogen-responsive reporter gene, and vitellogenin production in juvenile rainbow trout. 17β-Estradiol, 17α-ethynyl estradiol, and diethylstilbestrol induced a strong estrogenic response in all test systems. Colchicine caused cytotoxicity only. Bisphenol A induced an estrogenic response in all assays. The results obtained for the remaining test compounds—tamoxifen, ICI 182.780, testosterone, bisphenol A dimethacrylate, 4-n-octylphenol, 4-n-nonylphenol, nonylphenol dodecylethoxylate, butylbenzylphthalate, dibutylphthalate, methoxychlor, o,p′-DDT, p,p′-DDE, endosulfan, chlomequat chloride, and ethanol—varied among the assays. The results demonstrate that careful standardization is necessary to obtain a reasonable degree of reproducibility. Also, similar methods vary in their sensitivity to estrogenic compounds. Thus, short-term tests are useful for screening purposes, but the methods must be further validated by additional interlaboratory and interassay comparisons to document the reliability of the methods. ImagesFigure 2Figure 5Figure 6Figure 7
Are Tablets the Smart Medicine for Physics Education

With physics education in crisis in Australia and elsewhere as student numbers continue to trend downwards (Smithers & Robinson, 2006), this research is timely as it investigated a ‘smarter’ way to teach physics. Theory and practice were blended to develop the Tablet/Workbook Pedagogy (TWP). Its use in teaching high school physics classes produced clear evidence of improved scores in, understanding of, and engagement with physics. It is anticipated that use of the TWP will ultimately attract and etain more students in physics classes. Cognitive Load Theory, (CLT) (Sweller, 1994) provides a basis for understanding why physics is so difficult for many students o learn (Osborne, 2005), particularly when traditional methods are used (Paas, 1992). CLT views learning as the generation, elaboration and automation of mental chemas for storage in long term memory. The process of schema construction occurs in working memory which can cope with the simultaneous processing of only a very imited numbers (two to four) of chunks of complex information (Cowan, 2001). In an inherently complex subject like physics (van Merrienboer & Sweller, 2005), learning an occur only after multiple interacting elements have been simultaneously processed in working memory. For many students, particularly novices, learning is severely estricted when their limited working memory resources are overwhelmed by the required processing task and cognitive overload results. ; ; Submitted in the fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Education by Research, University of the Sunshine Coast, 2009.
Do Mutual Fund Managers Exploit the Ramadan Anomaly? Evidence from Turkey

Recent literature shows that the holy month of Ramadan exerts a positive influence on investor sentiment in predominantly Muslim countries. This anomaly has been found to be particularly pronounced in Turkey. We therefore examine whether mutual fund managers investing in Turkish stocks are able to benefit from the Ramadan effect. We find that risk-adjusted performance of domestic institutional funds, hybrid funds and foreign Turkish equity funds is substantially higher during Ramadan compared to the rest of the year. By contrast, domestic index funds fail to deliver higher abnormal returns as they are adversely affected by increased money inflows during Ramadan.
Mycophenolate mofetil in induction and maintenance therapy of severe lupus nephritis: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND The outcomes of previous trials of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in treating severe lupus nephritis (LN) are not in exact agreement. This meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assesses the benefits and harms of MMF in the induction and maintenance therapy of severe LN. METHODS We searched Medline, EMBASE and the Cochrane Collaboration Database for RCTs that compared MMF with other immunorepressive regimens for treating lupus nephritis and extracted data for remissions, side effects and prognosis in induction therapy and prognosis and side effects in maintenance therapy, and we summarized the combined results of the data of the RCTs as relative risk (RR). RESULTS We analysed five RCTs with 307 patients-four RCTS providing the data for comparing MMF with cyclophosphamide (CYC) for induction therapy and two RCTs providing the data for comparing MMF with azathioprine (AZA) for maintenance therapy of severe LN. Overall, compared with CYC, induction therapy with MMF reduced the risk of infection significantly (RR 0.65, P<0.001). It also significantly increased the complete remission rate compared with intravenous CYC (RR 3.10, P=0.006). Compared with intravenous CYC, induction therapy with MMF reduced the incidence of leucopenia significantly (RR 0.66, P=0.04). The prognosis and other side effects were not significantly different between MMF and CYC induction therapies. There was no significant difference between the patients receiving MMF and those receiving AZA for maintenance therapy in prognosis or the risks of amenorrhoea and herpes zoster. CONCLUSIONS MMF has higher efficacy in inducing remission in severe LN than pulsed intravenous therapy with CYC. Induction therapy with MMF is also associated with fewer side effects than induction therapy with CYC. Compared with AZA, MMF also is an alternative for maintenance therapy of severe LN without significant difference in the prognosis or risks of amenorrhoea and herpes zoster.
On causal and anticausal learning

We consider the problem of function estimation in the case where an underlying causal model can be inferred. This has implications for popular scenarios such as covariate shift, concept drift, transfer learning and semi-supervised learning. We argue that causal knowledge may facilitate some approaches for a given problem, and rule out others. In particular, we formulate a hypothesis for when semi-supervised learning can help, and corroborate it with empirical results.
Computational Statistics and Data Analysis Sample Sizes Required to Detect Interactions between Two Binary Fixed-effects in a Mixed-effects Linear Regression Model

Mixed-effects linear regression models have become more widely used for analysis of repeatedly measured outcomes in clinical trials over the past decade. There are formulae and tables for estimating sample sizes required to detect the main effects of treatment and the treatment by time interactions for those models. A formula is proposed to estimate the sample size required to detect an interaction between two binary variables in a factorial design with repeated measures of a continuous outcome. The formula is based, in part, on the fact that the variance of an interaction is fourfold that of the main effect. A simulation study examines the statistical power associated with the resulting sample sizes in a mixed-effects linear regression model with a random intercept. The simulation varies the magnitude (∆) of the standardized main effects and interactions, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ρ), and the number (k) of repeated measures within-subject. The results of the simulation study verify that the sample size required to detect a 2 × 2 interaction in a mixed-effects linear regression model is fourfold that to detect a main effect of the same magnitude.
Working Paper Series 2003 No . 188 Low-Inflation Targeting and Unemployment Persistence

A recent model by Akerlof, Dickens and Perry (2000) (ADP) predicts that low inflation may cause unemployment to persist at high levels. This finding should be of major interest to European countries where inflation is targeted at low levels. We specify a small open economy version of the ADP model and apply it to Swedish data. The results indicate that raising the Swedish inflation target from 2 to 4% would bring long-run unemployment down by two percentage points, to 2.0-2.5%. EMU membership, with inflation at the average of the present 0-2% band, would raise unemployment to around 6%. Membership thus implies a rejection of a national inflation target that could maximize employment. Given that long run unemployment-inflation trade-offs can be found in other countries as well, there is nothing to suggest that these trade-offs are identical across countries. A single inflation rate in the EMU may then cause unemployment to widely exceed the lowest sustainable rate in individual countries. We also extend the ADP model by showing theoretically that the unemployment minimizing inflation rate could lead to too low output. However, empirically we find, both for Sweden and the U.S., that minimum unemployment and maximum output occur at roughly the same rate of inflation.
Teacher roles and adoption of educational technology in the Chinese context

In der neuen Wissens- und Digitalen Gesellschaft sind Bildung, Schule und Unterricht mit grosen Herausforderungen beim Ubergang von traditionellen zu innovativeren Arten des Lehrens und Lernens konfrontiert. Damit ergibt sich auch ein groser Bedarf an einem Wandel der Lehrerrolle, von der Rolle des traditionellen Wissensvermittlers hin zu einer Reihe von neuen Rollen. Die vorliegende Forschungsarbeit untersucht Wahrnehmungen von Lehrerrollen und deren Auswirkungen auf die Nutzung von Bildungstechnologien in Schulen in China. Die Teilnehmer dieser empirischen Studie sind 125 Primar- und Sekundarschullehrerinnen und -lehrer einer chinesischen Schule in Peking. Die Untersuchung unterscheidet funf Typen von Lehrerrollen: expert, authority, personal model, facilitator und delegator. Die Ergebnisse dieser Studie zeigen, dass Lehrerinnen und Lehrer mit den Profi len facilitator/expert und facilitator/delegator eher dazu geneigt sind, Bildungstechnologien einzusetzen. Diese Ergebnisse werden im Kontext aktueller Entwicklungen zur Nutzung von ICT fur das Lehren und Lernen und den Herausforderungen im chinesischen Bildungskontext prasentiert und diskutiert.
Distributed Structure: Joint Expurgation for the Multiple-Access Channel

In this paper, we obtain an improved lower bound on the error exponent of the memoryless multiple-access channel via the use of linear codes, thus demonstrating that structure can be beneficial even when capacity may be achieved via random codes. We show that if the multiple-access channel is additive over a finite field, then any error probability, and hence any error exponent, achievable by a linear code for the associated single-user channel, is also achievable for the multiple-access channel. In particular, linear codes allow to attain joint expurgation, and hence, attain the single-user expurgated exponent of the single-user channel, whenever the latter is achieved by a uniform distribution. Thus, for additive channels, at low rates, where expurgation is needed, our approach strictly improves performance over previous results, where expurgation was used for at most one of the users. Even when the multiple-access channel is not additive, it may be transformed into such a channel. While the transformation is information-lossy, we show that the distributed structure gain in some “nearly additive” cases outweighs the loss. Finally, we apply a similar approach to the Gaussian multiple-access channel. While we believe that due to the power constraints, it is impossible to attain the single-user error exponent, we do obtain an improvement over the best known achievable error exponent, given by Gallager, for certain parameters. This is accomplished using a nested lattice triplet with judiciously chosen parameters.
The Origins and Future of Control Theory in Psychology

The construct of “control” is virtually ubiquitous in psychology and it links to a comprehensive range of real-world outcomes. Control theory is critically important in this regard because it describes and models the dynamic systems that enable control to occur. Yet, the origins and principles of control theory in psychology are often misunderstood. This leads to a failure to capitalize on its strengths as a unifying, dynamic framework. We address this gap in knowledge by describing the early origins of control theory and its 2 main paths of development within psychology, as a “man−machine system” approach, and as a “grand theory” of psychology. We introduce the grand theory approach to control theory, pioneered by William T. Powers (1926-2013). Powers (1973) proposed that behavior is the control of perception and he introduced a closed-loop, hierarchical architecture to implement this principle. We propose that Powers’ control theory provides a wholly new perspective on psychological science and is, as such, a third grand theory, after the behaviorist and cognitive theories. We describe a range of advances in neuroscience, animal behavior, social processes, and mental health, based on Powers’ theory, to illustrate its potential to transform the nature of psychological research and practice.
BRILLIANT PEBBLES: A METHOD FOR DETECTION OF VERY LARGE INTERSTELLAR GRAINS

A photon of wavelength λ ∼ 1 μm interacting with a dust grain of radius ap ∼ 1 mm (a “pebble”) undergoes scattering in the forward direction, largely within a small characteristic diffraction angle θs ∼ λ/ap ∼ 100″. Though millimeter-size dust grains contribute negligibly to the interstellar medium's visual extinction, the signal they produce in scattered light may be detectable, especially for variable sources. Observations of light scattered at small angles allow for the direct measurement of the large grain population; variable sources can also yield tomographic information of the interstellar medium's mass distribution. The ability to detect brilliant pebble halos requires a careful understanding of the instrument point-spread function.
Investigation of the Ising-type models within cluster approach

The method for calculation of the correlation functions of the Ising-type systems with short-range interaction and with arbitrary value of spin is developed within cluster approximation. For the Ising model (spin $S^z=\pm1$) the expressions for pair and ternary correlation functions within two-particle approximation in $\set{q}$-space are obtained for the hypercubic Bravais lattices. In the 1D case the exact expressions for them in the site space is obtained as well. On the basis of the Glauber equation within two-particle cluster approximation the longitudinal dynamical susceptibility $\chi(\set{q},E)$ is found. In the 1D case and in the absence of external field the expression for $\chi(\set{q},E)$ is exact. For the Emery-Blume-Griffiths model ($S^z=-2,0,2$) within two-particle approximation the pair correlation functions are calculated. The four-particle cluster approximation is used for calculation of static susceptibility $\chi(\set{q})$ of $KD_2PO_4$ ferroelectrics.
BCL‐2 family expression in human neutrophils during delayed and accelerated apoptosis

The human neutrophil spontaneously undergoes apoptosis, but this type of cell death can be delayed or accelerated by a wide variety of agents. There are wide discrepancies in the literature regarding the expression of the Bcl‐2 family of proteins in human neutrophils. Here, we show that A1, Mcl‐1, Bcl‐XL, and Bad are major transcripts in human neutrophils and that levels of these transcripts are cytokine regulated. However, no Bcl‐XL protein was detected in Western blots. Protein levels for the proapoptotic proteins Bad, Bax, Bak, and Bik remained constant during culture, despite changes in the levels of mRNA for these gene products. These proapoptotic proteins were extremely stable, having very long half‐lives. In contrast, A1 and Mcl‐1 transcripts were extremely unstable (with ∼3‐h half‐lives), and Mcl‐1 protein was also subject to rapid turnover. These results indicate that neutrophil survival is regulated by the inducible expression of the short‐lived Mcl‐1 and possibly the A1 gene products. In the absence of their continued expression, these prosurvival gene products are rapidly turned over, and then the activity of the stable death proteins predominates and promotes apoptosis.
Gendered Nature of Cyber Victimization as a Mechanism of Social Control

This research used a deductive post-hoc statistical design and Statistics Canada’s 2009 General Social Survey on victimization to explore the social control function of cyber victimization and determine whether this is gendered. Social control was operationalized as a composite measure of self-responsibilization. A multiple regression analysis identified predictors of social control and additional multiple regression models were used for a gender specific examination of social control. A total of 14 predictor variables were entered into three blocks: cyber victimization; sociodemographic characteristics; and violent victimization in physical space. The results reveal that cyber victimization remains a significant predictor of social control in addition to gender, a number of other sociodemographic characteristics of respondents, and physical space victimization types. The findings suggest that the theory of social control, which has been applied to violence against women in physical space, can also be applied to cyber space victimizations. This study also provides insights into the compound effects of physical space and cyber space victimizations on women and identifies implications for policy, methods, and theories for addressing and examining violence against women in cyberspace.