Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CDH13 is associated with working memory performance in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Different analytic strategies, including linkage, association and meta‐analysis support a role of CDH13 in the susceptibility to attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). CDH13 codes for cadherin 13 (or H‐cadherin), which is a member of a family of calcium‐dependent cell–cell adhesion proteins and a regulator of neural cell growth. We tested the association between CDH13 on three executive functioning tasks that are promising endophenotypes of ADHD. An adjusted linear regression analysis was performed in 190 ADHD‐affected Dutch probands of the IMAGE project. Three executive functions were examined: inhibition, verbal and visuo‐spatial working memory (WM). We tested 2632 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within CDH13 and 20 kb up‐ and downstream of the gene (capturing regulatory sequences). To adjust for multiple testing within the gene, we applied stringent permutation steps. Intronic SNP rs11150556 is associated with performance on the Verbal WM task. No other SNP showed gene‐wide significance with any of the analyzed traits, but a 72‐kb SNP block located 446 kb upstream of SNP rs111500556 showed suggestive evidence for association (P‐value range 1.20E‐03 to 1.73E‐04) with performance in the same Verbal WM task. This study is the first to examine CDH13 and neurocognitive functioning. The mechanisms underlying the associations between CDH13 and the clinical phenotype of ADHD and verbal WM are still unknown. As such, our study may be viewed as exploratory, with the results presented providing interesting hypotheses for further testing.
Preliminary Parallaxes of 40 L and T Dwarfs from the US Naval Observatory Infrared Astrometry Program

We present preliminary trigonometric parallaxes and proper motions for 22 L dwarfs and 18 T dwarfs measured using the ASTROCAM infrared imager on the US Naval Observatory (USNO) 1.55 m Strand Astrometric Reflector. The results presented here are based on observations obtained between 2000 September and 2002 November; about half of the objects have an observational time baseline of Δt = 1.3 yr and half Δt = 2.0 yr. Despite these short time baselines, the astrometric quality is sufficient to produce significant new results, especially for the nearer T dwarfs. Seven objects are in common with the USNO optical CCD parallax program for quality control and seven in common with the European Southern Observatory 3.5 m New Technology Telescope parallax program. We compare astrometric quality with both of these programs. Relative to absolute parallax corrections are made by employing Two Micron All Sky Survey and/or Sloan Digital Sky Survey photometry for reference-frame stars. We combine USNO infrared and optical parallaxes with the best available California Institute of Technology (CIT) system photometry to determine MJ, MH, and MK values for 37 L dwarfs between spectral types L0 and L8 and 19 T dwarfs between spectral types T0.5 and T8 and present selected absolute magnitude versus spectral type and color diagrams, based on these results. Luminosities and temperatures are estimated for these objects. Of special interest are the distances of several objects that are at or near the L-T dwarf boundary so that this important transition can be better understood. The previously reported early to mid T dwarf luminosity excess is clearly confirmed and found to be present at J, H, and K. The large number of objects that populate this luminosity-excess region indicate that it cannot be due entirely to selection effects. The T dwarf sequence is extended to MJ ≈ 16.9 by 2MASS J041519-0935, which, at d = 5.74 pc, is found to be the least luminous [log(L/L⊙) = -5.58] and coldest (Teff ≈ 760 K) brown dwarf known. Combining results from this paper with earlier USNO CCD results we find that, in contrast to the L dwarfs, there are no examples of low-velocity (Vtan < 20 km s-1) T dwarfs. This is consistent with the T dwarfs in this study being generally older than the L dwarfs. We briefly discuss future directions for the USNO infrared astrometry program.
Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce Factors Influencing Customer Loyalty of Mobile Phone Service: Empirical Evidence from Koreans

The purpose of this paper is to verify the relationships among service quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty in mobile phone service. The study conducted an empirical research. A total of 384 mobile phone users' responses were collected from Seoul in Korea. The findings show that service quality positively influences customer loyalty. In addition, perceived value and customer satisfaction positively affects customer loyalty respectively. For customers with high perceived service quality, perceived value, and satisfaction, they have a strong loyalty.
New Economy - New Policy Rules?

A bovine teat sanitizer includes a gun-like grip handle, trigger mechanism and control poppet valve connected to a pressurized sanitizing fluid supply. A fixed in-line teat cup sized to receive a predetermined volume of fluid from a proportioning valve sufficient for treating four teats of the bovine is connected to the handle. A toroidal overflow chamber receives displaced fluid from the cup when the cup captures and essentially seals a teat thus forcing sanitizing fluid into the teat strep canal and epidermis. The cup is lowered and displaced fluid from the overflow chamber returns to the cup cavity by gravity for use on the second and succeeding teats. A splash guard and teat guide snaps onto the cup and forms the chamber top and inner sides.
Moduli for equivariant vector bundles of rank two on smooth toric surfaces

We give a complete classification of equivariant vector bundles of rank two over smooth complete toric surfaces and construct moduli spaces of such bundles. This note is a direct continuation of an earlier note where we developed a general description of equivariant sheaves on toric varieties. Here we give a first application of that description. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Decaprenylphosphoryl-β-D-Ribose 2′-Epimerase, the Target of Benzothiazinones and Dinitrobenzamides, Is an Essential Enzyme in Mycobacterium smegmatis

BACKGROUND The unique cell wall of bacteria of the suborder Corynebacterineae is essential for the growth and survival of significant human pathogens including Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae. Drug resistance in mycobacteria is an increasingly common development, making identification of new antimicrobials a priority. Recent studies have revealed potent anti-mycobacterial compounds, the benzothiazinones and dinitrobenzamides, active against DprE1, a subunit of decaprenylphosphoribose 2' epimerase which forms decaprenylphosphoryl arabinose, the arabinose donor for mycobacterial cell wall biosynthesis. Despite the exploitation of Mycobacterium smegmatis in the identification of DprE1 as the target of these new antimicrobials and its use in the exploration of mechanisms of resistance, the essentiality of DprE1 in this species has never been examined. Indeed, direct experimental evidence of the essentiality of DprE1 has not been obtained in any species of mycobacterium. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS In this study we constructed a conditional gene knockout strain targeting the ortholog of dprE1 in M. smegmatis, MSMEG_6382. Disruption of the chromosomal copy of MSMEG_6382 was only possible in the presence of a plasmid-encoded copy of MSMEG_6382. Curing of this "rescue" plasmid from the bacterial population resulted in a cessation of growth, demonstrating gene essentiality. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE This study provides the first direct experimental evidence for the essentiality of DprE1 in mycobacteria. The essentiality of DprE1 in M. smegmatis, combined with its conservation in all sequenced mycobacterial genomes, suggests that decaprenylphosphoryl arabinose synthesis is essential in all mycobacteria. Our findings indicate a lack of redundancy in decaprenylphosphoryl arabinose synthesis in M. smegmatis, despite the relatively large coding capacity of this species, and suggest that no alternative arabinose donors for cell wall biosynthesis exist. Overall, this study further validates DprE1 as a promising target for new anti-mycobacterial drugs.
Evolution of local recruitment and its consequences for marine populations

Advantages of dispersal on the scales that are possible in a long pelagic larval period are not apparent, even for benthic species. An alternative hypothesis is that wide dispersal may be an incidental byproduct of an ontogenetic migration from and then back to the parental habitat. Under this hypothesis, the water column is a better habitat than the bottom for early development. Because the parental area is often an especially favorable habitat for juveniles and adults, selection may even favor larval retention or larval return rather than dispersal. Where larval capabilities and currents permit, a high percentage of recruits may then be produced from local adults. Expected consequences of a high proportion of local recruitment are stronger links between stock and recruitment, greater vulnerability to recruitment overfishing and local modifications of habitat, greater local benefits from fishery reserves, and possibly more localized adaptation within populations. Export of some larvae is consistent with a high proportion of retained or returning larvae, could stabilize populations linked by larval exchange, and provide connectivity between marine reserves. Even a small amount of larval export could account for the greater gene flow, large ranges, and long evolutionary durations seen in species with long pelagic larval stages.
The influence of mechanical spring on the dynamic performance of a moving-magnet linear actuator with cylindrical Halbach array

An influence of mechanical spring on the dynamic performance of a moving-magnet linear actuator with cylindrical Halbach array is described. On the basis of two dimensional (2-d) analytical solutions and experimental results, this paper estimates control parameters such as thrust constant, back-emf constant, inductance and resistance. And then, the voltage and the motion equation, which provide dynamic simulation algorithm, of a moving-magnet linear actuator are established. In particular, by expressing mechanical components as the motional impedance from the motion equation, this paper investigates not only the variation of the motional impedance according to system parameters but also the variation of power dissipated in the linear actuator with/without spring vs. frequency. Finally, the simulations and experiments for dynamic characteristics such as current and displacement of the moving-magnet linear actuator with/without spring are presented for various values of frequency.
A Preconditioning Framework for Sequences of Diagonally Modified Linear Systems Arising in Optimization

We propose a framework for building preconditioners for sequences of linear systems of the form $(A+\Delta_k) x_k=b_k$, where $A$ is symmetric positive semidefinite and $\Delta_k$ is diagonal positive semidefinite. Such sequences arise in several optimization methods, e.g., in affine-scaling methods for bound-constrained convex quadratic programming and bound-constrained linear least squares, as well as in trust-region and overestimation methods for convex unconstrained optimization problems and nonlinear least squares. For all the matrices of a sequence, the preconditioners are obtained by updating any preconditioner for $A$ available in the $LDL^T$ form. The preconditioners in the framework satisfy the natural requirement of being effective on slowly varying sequences; furthermore, under an additional property they are also able to cluster eigenvalues of the preconditioned matrix when some entries of $\Delta_k$ are sufficiently large. We present two low-cost preconditioners sharing the above-mentioned p.
Web-Scale Media Recommendation Systems

Modern consumers are inundated with choices. A variety of products are offered to consumers, who have unprecedented opportunities to select products that meet their needs. The opportunity for selection also presents a time-consuming need to select. This has led to the development of recommender systems that direct consumers to products expected to satisfy them. One area in which such systems are particularly useful is that of media products, such as movies, books, television, and music. We study the details of media recommendation by focusing on a large scale music recommender system. To this end, we introduce a music rating data set that is likely to be the largest of its kind, in terms of both number of users, items, and total number raw ratings. The data were collected by Yahoo! Music over a decade. We formulate a detailed recommendation model, specifically designed to account for the data set properties, its temporal dynamics, and the provided taxonomy of items. The paper demonstrates a design process that we believe to be useful at many other recommendation setups. The process is based on gradual modeling of additive components of the model, each trying to reflect a unique characteristic of the data.
ALLOGENEIC AND XENOGENEIC RESPONSE IN MIXED LEUKOCYTE CULTURES

The mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) test has been regarded as an in vitro model of the recognition or sensitization phase of the homograft or graft-versus-host reaction. It has been suggested that the graft-versus-host response in vivo is less in xenogeneic combinations than in allogeneic ones and that there is a similar quantitative relationship in MLC responses. Given the above interpretation of the MLC test, this could suggest that the lesser reactivity in xenogeneic combinations may be due to a lesser recognition of the stimulus. We have done nine experiments testing allogeneic and xenogeneic combinations in MLC, largely in combinatorial fashion. The results indicate that the response in xenogeneic MLC may be as great as that in allogeneic MLC and that, as in different allogeneic mixtures, there is great variation in the extent to which xenogeneic mixtures may respond.
Two-Dimensional Optical Beam Steering With InP-Based Photonic Integrated Circuits

Two-dimensional optical beam steering using an InP photonic integrated circuit has been demonstrated. Lateral beam steering controlled by a 1-D phased array has been made easier through on-chip interferometer monitors. Longitudinal beam steering controlled by the input wavelength has demonstrated an efficiency of 0.14 °/nm. Very fast beam steering (>107 °/s) in both dimensions has been demonstrated as well. As the latest development, a widely tunable sampled-grating distributed Bragg reflector laser has been monolithically integrated and 2-D beam steering has been demonstrated with this on-chip tunable laser source.
Children’s perceptions on the benefits of school nature field trips

ABSTRACT Numerous publications demonstrate that outdoor and nature-based education benefit school children both physically, cognitively, emotionally and socially and may also promote pro-environmental behaviour. This study assesses the perceptions of 22 students aged 11 to 12 years old after a nature field trip. Such students attended a state-funded primary school and participated in an integrated school programme which aimed to promote environmental awareness and to help children value the natural and cultural heritage of their surroundings. After interviewing the school children in focus groups and analysing data through a coding process and comparison system within an interpretative paradigm, the results illustrate that contribution to field trips benefit children mostly emotionally and socially, while cognitive outcomes are less apparent. These results are particularly relevant in multicultural contexts similar to the one studied.
THE DISTANCE TO A STAR-FORMING REGION IN THE OUTER ARM OF THE GALAXY

We performed astrometric observations with the Very Long Baseline Army of WB89−437, an H2O maser source in the Outer spiral arm of the Galaxy. We measure an annual parallax of 0.167 ± 0.006 mas, corresponding to a heliocentric distance of 6.0 ± 0.2 kpc or a Galactocentric distance of 13.4 ± 0.2 kpc. This value for the heliocentric distance is considerably smaller than the kinematic distance of 8.6 kpc. This confirms the presence of a faint Outer arm toward l = 135°. We also measured the full space motion of the object and find a large peculiar motion of ∼20 km s−1 toward the Galactic center. This peculiar motion explains the large error in the kinematic distance estimate. We also find that WB89−437 has the same rotation speed as the LSR, providing more evidence for a flat rotation curve and thus the presence of dark matter in the outer Galaxy.
Macronutrient intake and discrepancy with nutritional recommendations in a group of elderly diabetic subjects

Diet is a major aspect of glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes, particularly among the elderly. The objective of this study was to describe the food habits of elderly diabetic subjects compared with non-diabetic ones and to examine the difference between their nutritional behaviour and nutritional recommendations. This study was based on the Three City (3C) community-based cohort. The food habits of 1336 participants aged 65 or over, including 149 diabetic subjects, were evaluated using a FFQ and a 24 h recall of food consumption. For both sexes, intake of carbohydrates was lower for diabetic compared to non-diabetic subjects, essentially due to a lower intake of mono-/disaccharides. For diabetic men, this was compensated for by a higher intake of protein whereas women had a lower energy intake overall. Fibre intake was also higher in diabetic men. There was no absolute increase in fats intake, neither for men nor for women, and distribution of subtypes of fats (saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) did not differ between diabetic and non-diabetic subjects. Carbohydrates provided 40·5 % of energy intake in diabetic men and 43·9 % in diabetic women. Contrary to nutritional recommendations for diabetic subjects, for approximately two-thirds of the diabetic subjects carbohydrates represented less than 45 % of daily energy intake. Although food habits of elderly diabetic subjects differed from those of non-diabetic ones, these habits are not totally in line with nutritional recommendations. These results should be taken into account to adapt nutritional advice given to the diabetic population.
Minimum wages and pay equity in Latin America

Copyright © International Labour Organization 2003 Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to the Publications Bureau (Rights and Permissions), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. Libraries, institutions and other users registered in the United Kingdom with the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP [Fax: (+44) (0)20 7631 5500; email: cla@cla.co.uk], in the United States with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 [Fax: (+1) (978) 750 4470; email: info@copyright.com] or in other countries with associated Reproduction Rights Organizations, may make photocopies in accordance with the licences issued to them for this purpose. ISBN 92-2-113725-2
Long Term Projections of the World Economy - A Review

Economic growth projections are fundamental to long term investment planning by businesses and government. There is an extensive and well developed literature concerned with methodologies for projecting economic growth over short time horizons, but over long horizons, where the goal is to quantify the implications of a particular scenario, the literature is limited. This paper provides a review of publicly available projections of GDP per capita over long time horizons and compares them with projections from a multi-sector model of the world economy called the G-Cubed model. Although there appears to be some general agreement over methodology across the reviewed sources, the projections vary considerably, particularly for developing regions over long time horizons, highlighting the importance and influence of alternative model methodology and assumptions. The comparison with the G-Cubed model builds on previous research that has highlighted the importance of a detailed disaggregated approach to projecting output and productivity that accounts for the dynamic interactions between sectors and across economies. Long term economic issues are becoming increasingly important and economic growth projections are fundamental to both the design and the assessment of long term economic policy alternatives. In addition, our ability to analyse the impact of long term policy alternatives is linked to our ability to model and understand the impact of global economic shocks. Models need to be clear in their methodological design and assumptions, but they also need to be sufficiently complex to account for the important sectoral relationships and international linkages that drive economic growth.
Enhanced Micronucleus Formation and Modulation of Bcl-2:Bax in MCF-7 Cells after Exposure to Binary Mixtures

Background Within mixtures, interactions between different xenobiotics may occur to give rise to additive, synergistic, inhibitory and/or stimulatory effects in target cells. The role that xenobiotics individually or in mixtures, and at environmental concentrations, play in the etiology of common human diseases often remains obscure. Methods In the presence or absence of lindane, chromosomal aberrations were detected in MCF-7 cells after 24-hr treatment with benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) or 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) using the cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay. Micronuclei were scored in 1,000 binucleate cells/treatment. We investigated intracellular responses using quantitative gene expression analyses of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A [CDKN1A (P21WAF1/CIP1)], B-cell leukemia/lymphoma 2 (BCL-2), BCL-2–associated X (BAX), and isoforms of cytochrome P450 (CYP), CYP1A1, CYP1A2, and CYP1B1. Immunocytochemical analyses of p53, p21Waf1/Cip1, Bcl-2 and Bax protein expression in MCF-7 cells were also carried out. Results After exposure to binary mixtures of B[a]P plus lindane or PhIP plus lindane, a 10-fold increase in micronucleus formation resulted; these test agents individually induced 2- to 5-fold increases. Lindane increased the ratio of Bcl-2:Bax, as did 17β-estradiol (E2). Although treatment with B[a]P alone was found to elevate expression of P21WAF1/CIP1and CYP isoenzymes, it reduced the ratio of BCL-2:BAX mRNA transcripts. Treatment with a binary mixture of 10−8 M B[a]P plus 10−12 M lindane or 10−10 M E2 reversed B[a]P-induced reductions in the ratio of Bcl-2– to Bax-positive cells. In contrast, treatments with PhIP (known to possess hormonelike properties) plus lindane or E2 resulted in profound reductions in Bcl-2:Bax ratio. Conclusions Our results suggest that low-dose treatments (i.e., close to environmental levels) may increase DNA damage while influencing survival in exposed cells and that these effects may depend on the endocrine activity of test agents.
Encouraging Students to be Readers: Survey Results of Successful Practices

Motivating students to complete reading assignments is a problem documented across disciplines. Journalism and mass communication are no exception. This study used a Web-based survey to ask Inter national Association for Literary Journalism Studies (IALJS) members and Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Small Programs Interest Group (SPIG) listserv subscribers about (a) observations of student reading practices with longer forms of journalism and (b) successful practices for motivating students to read. Educators’ learning goals for student reading and the strategies used to achieve these goals are discussed.