Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vanishing twins: a predictor of small-for-gestational age in IVF singletons.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of a vanishing twin on the risk of being small-for-gestational age (SGA) in in vitro fertilization (IVF) singletons. METHODS The study included 642 survivors of a vanished co-twin, 5237 primary singletons and 3678 primary twins. The survivor cohort was subdivided according to gestational age at the time of vanishing to give groups of early (<8 weeks), intermediate (8-22 weeks) and late (>22 weeks) survivors. RESULTS The rate of SGA infants was significantly higher in survivors than in singletons (OR: 1.50, 95%CI: 1.03-2.20) and a significant inverse correlation was observed between SGA and the gestational age at the time of vanishing (r = -0.10, P < 0.02). Also in term infants, the risk of birthweight <2500 g was higher in survivors than in singletons (OR: 1.71, 95%CI: 1.06-2.74). A similar increase in the rate of low birthweight in term survivors was seen with increasing gestational age at the time of vanishing (r = -0.12; P < 0.01). In multiple logistic regression analysis adjusting for maternal age, parity, child gender and pre-eclampsia, the vanishing of a co-twin (OR: 1.56, 95%CI: 1.06-2.27) and gestational age at the time of vanishing (OR: 2.08, 95%CI: 1.00-4.35) were the only significant predictors of being SGA. CONCLUSIONS IVF singletons with a vanished co-twin had a higher rate of SGA than singletons from a single gestation and the risk of SGA is increased with increasing gestational age at the time of vanishing.
On Accuracy of PDF Divergence Estimators and Their Applicability to Representative Data Sampling

Generalisation error estimation is an important issue in machine learning. Cross-validation traditionally used for this purpose requires building multiple models and repeating the whole procedure many times in order to produce reliable error estimates. It is however possible to accurately estimate the error using only a single model, if the training and test data are chosen appropriately. This paper investigates the possibility of using various probability density function divergence measures for the purpose of representative data sampling. As it turned out, the first difficulty one needs to deal with is estimation of the divergence itself. In contrast to other publications on this subject, the experimental results provided in this study show that in many cases it is not possible unless samples consisting of thousands of instances are used. Exhaustive experiments on the divergence guided representative data sampling have been performed using 26 publicly available benchmark datasets and 70 PDF divergence estimators, and their results have been analysed and discussed.
From promise to practice: pairing non-invasive sampling with genomics in conservation

Conservation genomics has become an increasingly popular term, yet it remains unclear whether the non-invasive sampling that is essential for many conservation-related studies is compatible with the minimum requirements for harnessing next-generation sequencing technologies. Here, we evaluated the feasibility of using genotyping-by-sequencing of non-invasively collected hair samples to simultaneously identify and genotype single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a climate-sensitive mammal, the American pika (Ochotona princeps). We identified and genotyped 3,803 high-confidence SNPs across eight sites distributed along two elevational transects using starting DNA amounts as low as 1 ng. Fifty-five outlier loci were detected as candidate gene regions under divergent selection, constituting potential targets for future validation. Genome-wide estimates of gene diversity significantly and positively correlated with elevation across both transects, with all low elevation sites exhibiting significant heterozygote deficit likely due to inbreeding. More broadly, our results highlight a range of issues that must be considered when pairing genomic data collection with non-invasive sampling, particularly related to field sampling protocols for minimizing exogenous DNA, data collection strategies and quality control steps for enhancing target organism yield, and analytical approaches for maximizing cost-effectiveness and information content of recovered genomic data.
"^^miv Working Paper Alfred P. Sloan School of Management Joint Venture Formations in the Information Technology Sector a Diffusion-of-innovation Perspective a Diffusion-of-innovation Perspective a Di£fusion-of-innovation Perspective Secton a Diffusion of Innovation Perspective a Diffusion-of-innova

Research Program", MIT. We thank Vijay Mahajan for his comments and suggestions on an earlier draft of the paper, but the authors alone are responsible for the limitations and the final version. Abstract Based on a premise that insights from the study of the diffusion of technological innovations can be appUed to the domain of administrative innovations, this paper examines the pattern of joint venture formation in an environment marked by high levels of environmental uncertainty. Viewing joint ventures as a class of administrative innovations, this paper tests the imitation hypothesis that the diffusion pattern can be described by an S-shaped curve. Data on joint venture formations over the period 1972-1988 in the information technology sector were subjected to empirical tests of the imitation hypothesis. The results did not support the imitation hypothesis, thus raising important theoretical issues on 'imitation versus strategic choice' and methodological issues on the potential role of diffusion models to study patterns of administrative innovations.
Functional anatomy of syntactic and semantic processing in language comprehension

A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was conducted to map syntactic and semantic processes onto the brain. Chinese‐English bilingual subjects performed two experimental tasks: a syntactic plausibility judgment task in which they decided whether a viewed verb phrase was syntactically legal, and a semantic plausibility judgment task in which they decided whether a viewed phrase was semantically acceptable. A font size judgment task was used as baseline. It is found that a large‐scale distributed neural network covering the left mid‐inferior frontal and mid‐superior temporal cortices was responsible for the processing of Chinese phrases. The right homologue areas of these left cortical sites were also active, although the brain activity was obviously left‐lateralized. Unlike previous research with monolingual English speakers that showed that distinct brain regions mediate syntactic and semantic processing of English, the cortical sites contributing to syntactic analysis of Chinese phrases coincided with the cortical sites relevant to semantic analysis. Stronger brain activity, however, was seen in the left middle frontal cortex for syntactic processing (relative to semantic processing), whereas for semantic processing stronger cortical activations were shown in the left inferior prefrontal cortex and the left mid‐superior temporal gyri. The overall pattern of results indicates that syntactic processing is less independent in reading Chinese. This is attributable to the linguistic nature of the Chinese language that semantics and syntax are not always clearly demarcated. Equally interesting, we discovered that when our bilingual subjects performed syntactic and semantic acceptability judgments of English phrases, they applied the cerebral systems underlying Chinese reading to the processing of English. Hum. Brain Mapping 16:133–145, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Preliminary Validity of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System in Norwegian Lower-Secondary Schools

ABSTRACT Observations seem particularly susceptible to rater error due to the level of subjectivity involved in assessment. Thus, the present paper aims to investigate: (1) inter-rater agreement (IRA) using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System – Secondary version (CLASS-S) and (2) the CLASS-S factor structure in a Norwegian context. Inter-rater agreement analysis comprise percent within one (PWO). Confirmatory factor analysis are performed to analyze the factor structure. Certified trainers scored videotaped observations. The study indicates that an acceptable IRA can be achieved in a Norwegian setting, and it reports promising results regarding the structural validity of the CLASS-S.
A COMPARISON OF PERSONALITY TRAITS OF ARTISTS AND ORDINARY PEOPLE

Abstract Introduction . This research was to compare the personality traits of artists with ordinary people in Isfahan. The Aim of Study : Comparison of personality traits in artists and ordinary people. Materials and Methods : The artists included poets(n = 40) ,painters (n = 46) , actors (n = 46) and musicians (n = 37)selected by random sampling and the ordinary people (55 people) were selected by random cluster sampling and matched with respect to the variables , sex , age, education and marriage. The tool for research was California Psychology Inventory (CPI) with a reliability coefficient of 0.93 and Demographic traits Questionnaire (sex, age, education, marriage). Results and Conclusions. There is a significant difference (P< 0.05) between the personality traits of artists and ordinary people regarding dominance, sociability, social presence, self control, communality, intellectual efficiency. Tolerance was stronger in artists while flexibility and femininity was stronger in ordinary people. In addition to upper scales, for paired comparison of personality traits of artists (musicians, poets, painters, and actors) were matched with each other and with ordinary people. There was a significant difference between the other two traits: socializations and psychological mindedness of the group under study (P< 0.05). The results showed that the Dominance trait of was greater in actors than in painters and ordinary people; sociability trait of painters and actors was greater than in ordinary people; the intellectual efficiency trait of musicians was greater than in ordinary people, the communality trait of the actors was greater than in ordinary people, the flexibility of the musicians was greater than in actors and painters and also in ordinary people than in actors, the femininity trait of ordinary people was greater than in actors; the femininity trait of ordinary people was greater than in musicians and actors; the tolerance trait of the musicians, painters and poets was greater than in ordinary people, the socialization trait of actors was greater than in other groups and the psychological mindedness trait of the musicians was greater than in other groups. Moreover, studying the relation between the demographic traits and artists personality traits, it appeared that the capacity for status had a positive relation and
A Comprehensive Spectral and Variability Study of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies Observed by ASCA. II. Spectral Analysis and Correlations

I present a comprehensive and uniform analysis of 25 ASCA observations from 23 narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s). The spectral analysis and correlations are presented in this paper; the reduction and time series analysis are presented in the companion paper. A maximum likelihood analysis confirms that the hard X-ray photon index is significantly steeper at more than 90% confidence in this sample of NLS1s compared with a random sample of Seyfert galaxies with broad optical lines. Soft excess emission was detected in 17 of the 19 objects that had no significant absorption, a result that demonstrates that soft excesses appear considerably more frequently in NLS1s than in Seyfert 1 galaxies with broad optical lines. The strength of the soft excess, parameterized using a flux ratio obtained from the blackbody plus power-law model, has a wide range of values in these objects (a factor of 50). The photon index was found to be correlated with the Hβ FWHM, despite the small range of the latter parameter; however, neither parameter is correlated with the strength of the soft excess or ROSAT slope. Therefore, assuming that an excess of soft photons causes the steep photon index and narrow Hβ FWHM, that excess may lie primarily in the unobservable EUV. The strength of the soft excess is correlated with the variability parameters, so that objects with strong soft excesses show higher amplitude variability; this potentially important result is not easily explained. While a range of 2 orders of magnitude in luminosity is represented, the temperature of the soft excess is approximately consistent throughout the sample, in contrast with expectations of simple accretion disk models. The presence of ionized absorption was sought using a two-edge model. It was found that this component appears to be typically less common in NLS1s and some evidence was found that the typical ionization state is lower compared with broad-line Seyfert galaxies. This fact, plus evidence for a correlation between the presence of the warm absorber and significant optical polarization, may imply that the inner warm absorber is missing or is too highly ionized to be detected, and only the outer, dusty, less ionized warm absorber is present in many cases. The iron line equivalent width appears to be similar among narrow and broad-line Seyfert galaxies. This could mean that reprocessing occurs with similar geometry in both classes of objects; however, the detection of ionized iron lines in a few objects, implying possibly altered fluorescence yields, and poor statistics, makes this conclusion tentative. Constraints on physical processes and models based on extreme values of orientation and accretion rate for NLS1s are examined in light of the observational results.
smooth muscle cells from sheep urethra currents in isolated + Characterization of outward K

[PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , May 1, 2001; 280 (5): C1349-C1356. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol G. P. Sergeant, M. A. Hollywood, K. D. McCloskey, N. G. McHale and K. D. Thornbury in modulation of spontaneous activity in pacemaker cells of rabbit urethra 3 Role of IP [PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , September 1, 2002; 283 (3): C885-C894. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol G. P. Sergeant, K. D. Thornbury, N. G. McHale and M. A. Hollywood from the rabbit urethra Characterization of norepinephrine-evoked inward currents in interstitial cells isolated [PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , January 1, 2006; 290 (1): C77-C86. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol Hiroko Sade, Katsuhiko Muraki, Susumu Ohya, Noriyuki Hatano and Yuji Imaizumi channels by cannabinoids + -activated K 2+ Activation of large-conductance, Ca [PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , November , 2011; 301 (5): C1186-C1200. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol Hollywood B. Kyle, E. Bradley, S. Ohya, G. P. Sergeant, N. G. McHale, K. D. Thornbury and M. A. muscle cells from rabbit urethra 2.1 channels to the delayed rectifier current in freshly dispersed smooth v Contribution of K
Cost- and deadline-constrained provisioning for scientific workflow ensembles in IaaS clouds

Large-scale applications expressed as scientific workflows are often grouped into ensembles of inter-related workflows. In this paper, we address a new and important problem concerning the efficient management of such ensembles under budget and deadline constraints on Infrastructure- as-aService (IaaS) clouds. We discuss, develop, and assess algorithms based on static and dynamic strategies for both task scheduling and resource provisioning. We perform the evaluation via simulation using a set of scientific workflow ensembles with a broad range of budget and deadline parameters, taking into account uncertainties in task runtime estimations, provisioning delays, and failures. We find that the key factor determining the performance of an algorithm is its ability to decide which workflows in an ensemble to admit or reject for execution. Our results show that an admission procedure based on workflow structure and estimates of task runtimes can significantly improve the quality of solutions.
V1 Mechanisms Underlying Chromatic Contrast Detection 2 3

25 To elucidate the cortical mechanisms of color vision, we recorded from individual V1 26 neurons in macaque monkeys performing a chromatic detection task. Roughly 30% of the 27 neurons we encountered were unresponsive at the monkeys’ psychophysical detection threshold. 28 The other 70% were responsive at threshold, but on average, were slightly less sensitive than the 29 monkey. For these neurons, the relationship between neurometric and psychometric threshold 30 was consistent across the four isoluminant color directions tested. A corollary of this result is that 31 neuronal thresholds were roughly four times lower for L–M stimuli than S-cone isolating stimuli. 32 Nearly half of the neurons that responded to chromatic stimuli at the monkeys' detection 33 threshold also responded to high contrast luminance modulations, suggesting a role for jointly 34 color-luminance tuned neurons in chromatic detection. Analysis of neuronal contrast-response 35 functions and signal-to-noise ratios yielded no evidence for a special set of “cardinal color 36 directions” for which V1 neurons are particularly sensitive. We conclude that at detection 37 threshold – as shown previously with high contrast stimuli – V1 neurons are tuned for a diverse 38 set of color directions and do not segregate naturally into red-green and blue-yellow categories. 39 40
Out-of-School Learning in Hungarian Primary Education: Practice and Barriers

Background: In recent years interest has increased in the role of out-of-school learning (OSL) in improving science education and students’ motivation toward learning. In Hungary, however, little is known about the practice and outlook of OSL. Purpose: This study explored (a) how Hungarian primary schools use OSL places (including the location, frequency, and motivation of the visits), (b) the overall attitudes toward OSL, and (c) whether any obstacles to OSL exist that schools need to overcome. Methodology/Approach: We used a large-scale online survey collecting data from a total of 4,861 respondents, which identified the parameters of OSL programs organized by primary schools. Findings/Conclusions: Results reveal that schools follow the recommendations of the National Core Curriculum on OSL, but such programs only occasionally take place, even though the majority of respondents expressed the desire for increased frequency. The main reasons for the low prevalence of OSL activities are difficulties with financial arrangements and fitting them into the syllabus. Implications: Further research should focus on how to overcome barriers to OSL to take the intention of the respondents into consideration.
Hazard and risk from large landslides from Mount Meager volcano, British Columbia, Canada

During the past 8000 years, large volcanic debris flows from Mount Meager, a Quaternary volcano in southwest British Columbia, have reached several tens of kilometres downstream in Lillooet River valley, with flow velocities of many metres per second and flow depths of several metres. These debris flows inundated areas that have become settled in the past 100 years and are now experiencing rapid urban growth. Notably, Pemberton, 65 km from Mount Meager, has doubled in size in the past five years. Approval of subdivision and building permits in Pemberton and adjacent areas requires assessment and mitigation of flood hazards, but large, rare debris flows from Mount Meager are not considered in the permitting process. Unlike floods, some volcanic debris flows occur without warning. We quantify the risk to residents in Lillooet River valley from non-eruption triggered volcanic debris flows based on Holocene landslide activity at Mount Meager. The calculated risk exceeds, by orders of magnitude, risk tolerance thresholds developed in Hong Kong, Australia, England, and in one jurisdiction in Canada. This finding poses a challenge for local governments responsible for public safety.
An essential role for maternal control of Nodal signaling

Growth factor signaling is essential for pattern formation, growth, differentiation, and maintenance of stem cell pluripotency. Nodal-related signaling factors are required for axis formation and germ layer specification from sea urchins to mammals. Maternal transcripts of the zebrafish Nodal factor, Squint (Sqt), are localized to future embryonic dorsal. The mechanisms by which maternal sqt/nodal RNA is localized and regulated have been unclear. Here, we show that maternal control of Nodal signaling via the conserved Y box-binding protein 1 (Ybx1) is essential. We identified Ybx1 via a proteomic screen. Ybx1 recognizes the 3’ untranslated region (UTR) of sqt RNA and prevents premature translation and Sqt/Nodal signaling. Maternal-effect mutations in zebrafish ybx1 lead to deregulated Nodal signaling, gastrulation failure, and embryonic lethality. Implanted Nodal-coated beads phenocopy ybx1 mutant defects. Thus, Ybx1 prevents ectopic Nodal activity, revealing a new paradigm in the regulation of Nodal signaling, which is likely to be conserved. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.00683. 001
Outward Processing, EU Enlargement and Regional Relocation in the European Textiles and Clothing Industry: Reflections on the European Commission’s Communication on ‘the Future of the Textiles and Clothing Sector in the Enlarged European Union’

The European clothing industry faces a number of important challenges which have been at the forefront of policy thinking across the European Union and beyond. This paper provides a set of reflections on the European Commission’s recent Communication on the future of the industry in Europe in the light of pressures of liberalization, globalization and EU enlargement. Based upon ongoing research on the restructuring of the Central and East European clothing sector, the paper highlights the limits of the outward-processing model of production that has dominated east-west interactions in this sector. It also examines the uneven role of upgrading and emerging design capacity in the industry, the role and limits of clothing-industry clusters in the new member states, and considers the role of ‘countermarkets’ in the pan-European clothing-contracting system.
The structure of topological semigroups

The title of this address might incline one to the notion that here is to be found a small number of large theorems. To the contrary, I shall talk about a large number of small theorems. Actually, there does not exist a t this time any corpus of information to which the title "structure of topological semigroups" is in any fashion applicable. Whether such a body of theorems will ever exist is a matter for the future and is likely to depend on the use to which it might be put as well as to the tastes of mathematicians who are not yet such. When the investigation of topological groups began there was at hand a theory of abstract groups and much of a fundamental character in Lie groups was available. Beyond this there existed a great body of geometry even if some of it was in a nebulous state insofar as the then held standards of rigor were concerned. With topological semigroups the situation is quite contrariwise. Here we are faced with a lack of satisfactory algebraic results. I do not think that there are so many as twenty-five papers each exceeding ten pages which are concerned exclusively with the algebraic aspects. We are more fortunate than were the pioneers who forayed the frontiers of topological groups in that we have at our disposal a greater wealth of topology. Much that they could not—or at least did not—use is a t hand for our use. Furthermore we can rely, at least if for no more than analogy, on their results. The state of both algebraic and set-theoretic topology is a somewhat happier one now than then. Still we are likely to be troubled for awhile for lack of something like Haar measure without which we shall be at a loss for representation theorems. At present there seems to be no line of attack on the representation problem and it is probable that we shall need to rely to a greater extent on geometry and topology than was the case with groups.