Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Place of Work and Place of Residence: Informal Hiring Networks and Labor Market Outcomes

We use a novel research design to empirically detect the effect of social interactions on labor market outcomes. Using Census data on residential and employment locations, we examine whether individuals residing in the same city block are more likely to work together than those in nearby blocks. We find evidence of significant social interactions. The estimated referral effect is stronger when individuals are similar in sociodemographic characteristics. These findings are robust across specifications intended to address sorting and reverse causation. Further, the increased availability of neighborhood referrals has a significant impact on a wide range of labor market outcomes.
Group cohesion, personality and leadership effect on networked marketing staff performance

An Australian-based marketing design team was studied (n = 127) to measure how leadership, personality and other factors impact their project performance. The teams were multicultural (91% were not Australian born) and they communicated almost exclusively using virtual communications software. Proven instruments were selected from the literature to measure transformational and transactional leadership perceptions, along with personality traits. Substitutes for leadership were recast as controls, namely cohesion, gender, and professional orientation. Descriptive statistics, correlation, and hierarchical linear modelling regression were used to test the hypotheses. Three factors had significant predictive effect: high cohesion, high transactional leadership and an agreeable personality trait.
A Cascade of Sequentially Expressed Sucrose Transporters in the Seed Coat and Endosperm Provides Nutrition for the Arabidopsis Embryo[OPEN]

Triple mutants of three sucrose-transporting SWEETs show reduced seed yield, indicating that multiple sucrose translocation pathways move sugar from the maternal to the filial tissues. Developing plant embryos depend on nutrition from maternal tissues via the seed coat and endosperm, but the mechanisms that supply nutrients to plant embryos have remained elusive. Sucrose, the major transport form of carbohydrate in plants, is delivered via the phloem to the maternal seed coat and then secreted from the seed coat to feed the embryo. Here, we show that seed filling in Arabidopsis thaliana requires the three sucrose transporters SWEET11, 12, and 15. SWEET11, 12, and 15 exhibit specific spatiotemporal expression patterns in developing seeds, but only a sweet11;12;15 triple mutant showed severe seed defects, which include retarded embryo development, reduced seed weight, and reduced starch and lipid content, causing a “wrinkled” seed phenotype. In sweet11;12;15 triple mutants, starch accumulated in the seed coat but not the embryo, implicating SWEET-mediated sucrose efflux in the transfer of sugars from seed coat to embryo. This cascade of sequentially expressed SWEETs provides the feeding pathway for the plant embryo, an important feature for yield potential.
From drug response profiling to target addiction scoring in cancer cell models

ABSTRACT Deconvoluting the molecular target signals behind observed drug response phenotypes is an important part of phenotype-based drug discovery and repurposing efforts. We demonstrate here how our network-based deconvolution approach, named target addiction score (TAS), provides insights into the functional importance of druggable protein targets in cell-based drug sensitivity testing experiments. Using cancer cell line profiling data sets, we constructed a functional classification across 107 cancer cell models, based on their common and unique target addiction signatures. The pan-cancer addiction correlations could not be explained by the tissue of origin, and only correlated in part with molecular and genomic signatures of the heterogeneous cancer cells. The TAS-based cancer cell classification was also shown to be robust to drug response data resampling, as well as predictive of the transcriptomic patterns in an independent set of cancer cells that shared similar addiction signatures with the 107 cancers. The critical protein targets identified by the integrated approach were also shown to have clinically relevant mutation frequencies in patients with various cancer subtypes, including not only well-established pan-cancer genes, such as PTEN tumor suppressor, but also a number of targets that are less frequently mutated in specific cancer types, including ABL1 oncoprotein in acute myeloid leukemia. An application to leukemia patient primary cell models demonstrated how the target deconvolution approach offers functional insights into patient-specific addiction patterns, such as those indicative of their receptor-type tyrosine-protein kinase FLT3 internal tandem duplication (FLT3-ITD) status and co-addiction partners, which may lead to clinically actionable, personalized drug treatment developments. To promote its application to the future drug testing studies, we have made available an open-source implementation of the TAS calculation in the form of a stand-alone R package. Drug Discovery Collection: The authors take a pan-cancer approach that provides functional insights into molecular vulnerabilities across various cancer subtypes and patient-specific target addiction patterns that could lead to actionable treatment strategies.
Application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process on Data Warehouse System Selection Decisions for Small and Large Enterprises in Taiwan

The study investigates the practice of data warehouse system selection decisions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises (LEs) in Taiwan. The increasing number of companies looking for data warehousing solutions to gain a significant business advantage has created a need for systematic method for choosing appropriate data warehouse system. The aim of this study is to determine the significant factors that influenced data warehouse system selection of LEs and SMEs. In this paper, both technical and managerial factors are considered to structure an evaluation hierarchy based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The AHP is used to examine the relative importance of data warehouse system selection criteria and subcriteria. The results indicate that SMEs selecting data warehouse systems mainly concentrate on cost and vendor criteria, and LEs focus on technical criteria.
High-density lipoprotein metabolism and reverse cholesterol transport: strategies for raising HDL cholesterol

A key to effective treatment of cardiovascular disease is to understand the body’s complex lipoprotein transport system. Reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) is the process of cholesterol movement from the extrahepatic tissues back to the liver. Lipoproteins containing apoA-I [high-density lipoprotein (HDL)] are key mediators in RCT, whereas non-high-density lipoproteins (non-HDL, lipoproteins containing apoB) are involved in the lipid delivery pathway. HDL particles are heterogeneous; they differ in proportion of proteins and lipids, size, shape, and charge. HDL heterogeneity is the result of the activity of several factors that assemble and remodel HDL particles in plasma: ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1), lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT), cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP), hepatic lipase (HL), phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP), endothelial lipase (EL), and scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI). The RCT pathway consists of the following steps: 1. Cholesterol efflux from peripheral tissues to plasma, 2. LCAT-mediated esterification of cholesterol and remodeling of HDL particles, 3. direct pathway of HDL cholesterol delivery to the liver, and 4. indirect pathway of HDL cholesterol delivery to the liver via CETP-mediated transfer There are several established strategies for raising HDL cholesterol in humans, such as lifestyle changes; use of drugs including fibrates, statins, and niacin; and new therapeutic approaches. The therapeutic approaches include CETP inhibition, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonists, synthetic farnesoid X receptor agonists, and gene therapy. Results of clinical trials should be awaited before further clinical management of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Nevus Size and Number Are Associated with Telomere Length and Represent Potential Markers of a Decreased Senescence In vivo

Nevus counts represent one of the strongest risk factors for melanoma. They appear in childhood and adolescence and involute from middle age onwards. Recent evidence has shown that nevus cells undergo oncogene-induced senescence involving the p16/retinoblastoma pathway. However, telomere length also influences senescence in proliferative somatic cells and varies between individuals. This study explores whether telomere length measured in white cells is associated with nevus count and size in 1,897 Caucasian women ages 18 to 79 years. Total body nevus counts were positively correlated with white cell telomere length (mean, 7.09 kbp; range, 5.09-9.37) after adjustment for age (P = 0.0001). Age-adjusted telomere length was also associated with nevus count for nevi above 5 mm in diameter (P = 0.04). Subjects in the top category for nevus count had an average age-adjusted telomere length 150 bp longer than those in the lowest category. The positive correlation between white cell telomere length and nevi number and size may reflect an increased replicative potential (reduced senescence) in individuals with longer telomeres, which may not be melanocyte specific. Understanding mechanisms influencing the induction and involution of nevi will not only help in understanding the pathophysiology of melanoma but should also shed light on the complex relationship between aging and cancer. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(7):1499–502)
MEDIA EXPOSURE AND SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM REACTIVITY PREDICT PTSD SYMPTOMS AFTER THE BOSTON MARATHON BOMBINGS

Terrorist attacks have been shown to precipitate posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology in children and adolescents, particularly among youths with high exposure to media coverage surrounding such events. Media exposure may be particularly likely to trigger PTSD symptoms in youths with high physiological reactivity to stress or with prior psychopathology or exposure to violence. We examined the interplay between media exposure, preattack psychopathology, autonomic nervous system (ANS) reactivity, and prior violence exposure in predicting PTSD symptom onset following the terrorist attack at the 2013 Boston Marathon.
Quasi-Fuchsian manifolds with particles

We consider 3-dimensional hyperbolic cone-manifolds which are “convex cocompact” in a natural sense, with cone singularities along infinite lines. Such singularities are sometimes used by physicists as models for massive spinless point particles. We prove an infinitesimal rigidity statement when the angles around the singular lines are less than π: any infinitesimal deformation changes either these angles, or the conformal structure at infinity with marked points corresponding to the endpoints of the singular lines. Moreover, any small variation of the conformal structure at infinity and of the singular angles can be achieved by a unique small deformation of the cone-manifold structure. These results hold also when the singularities are along a graph, i.e., for “interacting particles”.
A Review of Whitehead ’ s Asphericity Conjecture by

This paper summarizes some of the work done to date on Whitehead’s question about the asphericity of subcomplexes of an aspherical 2-complex. We start with a review of the theory of higher homotopy groups. Next, we study some of their particular properties for 2-complexes; including their translation into an algebraic structure called crossed modules. The next section includes a translation of Whitehead’s conjecture using properties of crossed modules. We also review a different approach using homotopy of finite spaces; we include a short summary of the main definitions and results of that theory, and the implications for Whitehead’s conjecture. We finish the paper by considering some interesting questions that arise from the above mentioned translations.
MicroRNA‐19a enhances proliferation of bronchial epithelial cells by targeting TGFβR2 gene in severe asthma

Allergic asthma is characterized by inflammation and airway remodeling. Bronchial epithelium is considered a key player in coordinating airway wall remodeling. In mild asthma, the epithelium is damaged and fails to proliferate and to repair, whereas in severe asthma, the epithelium is highly proliferative and thicker. This may be due to different regulatory mechanisms. The purpose of our study was to determine the role of miRNAs in regulating proliferation of bronchial epithelial cells obtained from severe asthmatic subjects in comparison with cells obtained from mild asthmatics and healthy controls.
λ-Coloring Matrogenic Graphs

This paper investigates a variant of the general problem of assigning channels to the stations of a wireless network when the graph representing the possible interferences is a matrogenic graph. In our problem, channels assigned to adjacent vertices must be at least two apart, while channels assigned to vertices at distance two must be different. An exact linear time algorithm is provided for the class of threshold graphs. For matrogenic and matroidal graphs approximate algorithms are given. Consequently, previously known results concerning subclasses of cographs, split graphs and graphs with diameter two are improved.
Effects of amyloid peptides on cell viability and expression of neuropeptides in cultured rat dorsal root ganglion neurons: a role for free radicals and protein kinase C

Chronic pain caused by nerve injury and inflammation is more common in the elderly. However, mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are unclear. Higher sensitivity of sensory neurons to free radicals has been suggested as one possibility. The production of free radicals can be induced by various agents, including the highly toxic protein β‐amyloid (Aβ), which is found in higher amounts in the brains of Alzheimer's Disease patients. In dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cultures exposed to Aβ, we examined cellular toxicity and peptide expression, in particular calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP), a peptide which is abundantly expressed by nociceptive afferents and is known to be involved in pain processes. Exposure of cultured rat DRG neurons to Aβ25−35 or Aβ1−40 (10 or 20 µm for 24–96 h) increased trypan blue‐stained cells in a concentration‐ and time‐dependent manner, thus, indicating cellular toxicity. These treatments also increased the number of CGRP immunoreactive (IR) neurons while decreasing the number of neuropeptide Y‐ and galanin‐IR neurons. The free radical scavenger, superoxide dismutase, attenuated both the toxicity and neuropeptide changes induced by Aβ, thus, suggesting that oxidative stress probably contributes to these effects. Exposure of cultured DRG neurons to Aβ also increased the number of protein kinase Cα (PKCα)‐IR neurons. The PKC inhibitors, chelerythrine chloride and Gö6976, significantly augmented Aβ‐induced cellular toxicity while attenuating the increases in CGRP‐and PKCα‐IR cells, supporting the notion of a protective role for PKC in Aβ insults. These in vitro data suggest that Aβ peptides may, in addition to causing neurotoxicity, regulate neuropeptide expression in primary afferents. This finding could be relevant to the higher incidence of neuropathic pain that occurs with ageing.
‘It is nothing more than a senior moment’: the moderating role of subjective age in the effect of change in memory on self-rated memory

ABSTRACT Objective: The association between memory performance and self-rated memory is yet to be understood. More specifically, little is known about the factors that lie at the base of self-evaluations of memory in relation to actual changes in memory. In this study, we suggest that subjective age modifies the effect of objective change in memory on self-rated memory. Method: We used two waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 4624) to examine whether subjective age moderates the effect of experienced changes in memory between T1 and T2 on self-rated memory at T2. Results: Our results suggest that subjective age is a significant moderator of the effect of change in memory on self-rated memory. The effect is weaker among those with younger subjective age, and stronger for those with older subjective age. Conclusion: While preserving a young subjective age is usually considered an adaptive strategy, it also has potential negative effects, masking changes in memory performance.
A catalogue of deep mantle plumes: New results from finite‐frequency tomography

New finite‐frequency tomographic images of S‐wave velocity confirm the existence of deep mantle plumes below a large number of known hot spots. We compare S‐anomaly images with an updated P‐anomaly model. Deep mantle plumes are present beneath Ascension, Azores, Canary, Cape Verde, Cook Island, Crozet, Easter, Kerguelen, Hawaii, Samoa, and Tahiti. Afar, Atlantic Ridge, Bouvet(Shona), Cocos/Keeling, Louisville, and Reunion are shown to originate at least below the upper mantle if not much deeper. Plumes that reach only to midmantle are present beneath Bowie, Hainan, Eastern Australia, and Juan Fernandez; these plumes may have tails too thin to observe in the lowermost mantle, but the images are also consistent with an interpretation as “dying plumes” that have exhausted their source region. In the tomographic images, only the Eifel and Seychelles plumes are unambiguously confined to the upper mantle. Starting plumes are visible in the lowermost mantle beneath South of Java, East of Solomon, and in the Coral Sea. All imaged plumes are wide and fail to show plumeheads, suggesting a very weakly temperature‐dependent viscosity for lower mantle minerals, and/or compositional variations. The S‐wave velocity images show several minor differences with respect to the earlier P‐wave results, including plume conduits that extend down to the core‐mantle boundary beneath Cape Verde, Cook Island, and Kerguelen. A more substantial disagreement between P‐wave and S‐wave images reopens the question on the depth extent of the Iceland plume. We suggest that a pulsating behavior of the plume may explain the shape of the conduit beneath Iceland.
High resolution computed tomography angiography improves the radiographic diagnosis of invasive mold disease in patients with hematological malignancies.

BACKGROUND Computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) may improve the diagnostic capabilities of CT imaging for invasive mold disease, but its performance relative to other signs (ie, halo sign, hypodense sign, pleural effusion, reversed halo sign) is unknown. METHODS We prospectively compared the diagnostic performance of CTPA vs other CT imaging findings in 100 patients with hematological malignancies and possible invasive mold disease defined by EORTC/MSG criteria. After undergoing extensive diagnostic work-up, patients were upgraded to probable or proven mold disease based on galactomannan antigen, culture or histology; or remained as possible mold disease if an alternative diagnosis could not be established. RESULTS In total, 46 /100 patients who underwent CTPA were upgraded to probable or proven mold disease. Excluding 8 CTPA cases that were nonevaluable by the radiologist, a positive occlusion sign identified by CTPA was 100% sensitive for the diagnosis of probable or proven mold disease (41/41). Among patients who could not be upgraded from the possible mold disease category (n = 51), 25 (49%) had evidence of vessel occlusion by CTPA with only one positive patient eventually reaching an alternative diagnosis (Staphylococcus aureus septic thrombosis). Intravenous and/or oral antifungal therapy was stopped earlier in patients with a negative vs positive CTPA results (P ≤ .001). CONCLUSIONS Vessel occlusion detected by CTPA is a more sensitive and possibly more specific radiographic sign vs other common CT findings of invasive mold disease in patients with hematological malignancies.
Ournal of Statistical Mechanics: the Continuum Potts Model at the Disorder–order Transition—a Study by Cluster Dynamics

We investigate the continuum q-Potts model at its transition point from the disordered to the ordered regime, with particular emphasis on the coexistence of disordered and ordered phases in the high-q case. We argue that the occurrence of a phase transition can be seen as a percolation in the related random cluster representation, similarly to the lattice Potts model, and investigate the typical structure of clusters for high q. We also report on numerical simulations in two dimensions using a continuum version of the Swendsen–Wang algorithm, compare the results with earlier simulations which used the invaded cluster algorithm, and discuss implications on the geometry of clusters in the disordered and ordered phases.
Breaking Traditions : An Isotopic Study on the Changing Funerary Practices in the Dutch Iron Age (800-12 bc)

Urnfields in the Dutch river area were replaced by cemeteries with a mixture of cremation and inhumation graves around the sixth century bc. This study provides the first biogeochemical evidence that the Iron Age communities were heterogeneous in terms of geological origins. The high percentage of non-locally born individuals (~48%) supports the hypothesis that the change in burial practice was the result of the influx of foreign people, who were being allowed to keep their own burial customs, whereas some of the local inhabitants adapted the burial rites of foreign cultures, leading to a heterogeneous burial rite for some centuries.
Hyperspectral dimension reduction using global and local information based linear discriminant analysis

Abstract. Hyperspectral image classification has become an important research topic in remote sensing. Because of high dimensional data, a special attention is needed dealing with spectral data; and thus, one of the research topics in hyperspectral image classification is dimension reduction. In this paper, a dimension reduction approach is presented for classification on hyperspectral images. Advantages of the usage of not only global pattern information, but also local pattern information are examined in hyperspectral image processing. In addition, not only tuning the parameters, but also an experimental analysis of the distribution of the hyperspectral data is demonstrated. Therefore, how global or local pattern variations play an important role in classification is examined. According to the experimental outcomes, the promising results are obtained for classification on hyperspectral images.
High dynamic range (HDR) video image processing for digital glass

We present highly parallelizable and computationally efficient High Dynamic Range (HDR) image compositing, reconstruction, and spatotonal mapping algorithms for processing HDR video. We implemented our algorithms in the EyeTap Digital Glass electric seeing aid, for use in everyday life. We also tested the algorithms in extreme dynamic range situations, such as, electric arc welding. Our system runs in real-time, and requires no user intervention, and no fine-tuning of parameters after a one-time calibration, even under a wide variety of very difficult lighting conditions (e.g. electric arc welding, including detailed inspection of the arc, weld puddle, and shielding gas in TIG welding). Our approach can render video at 1920x1080 pixel resolution at interactive frame rates that vary from 24 to 60 frames per second with GPU acceleration. We also implemented our system on FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) for being miniaturized and built into eyeglass frames.