Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
International assistance to democratic reform in Ukraine: an opportunity missed or an opportunity squandered?

ABSTRACT The article examines the impact of international expert advice on efforts to introduce democratizing reforms in Ukraine’s system of public administration following independence in 1991. The focus of the analysis is on an area which has particular resonance in the light of recent events in Ukraine, the relationship between Kyiv and the regions. The article argues that the effectiveness of external assistance has been compromised as much by institutional factors affecting the behaviour of international donors as by corresponding factors on the Ukrainian side, and that an opportunity to contribute to the democratic transformation of Ukraine has been needlessly wasted.
A Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism in a Methylatable Foxa2 Binding Site of the G6PC2 Promoter Is Associated With Insulin Secretion In Vivo and Increased Promoter Activity In Vitro

OBJECTIVE—The G6PC2 gene encoding islet-specific glucose-6-phosphatase related protein (IGRP) has a common promoter variant, rs573225 (−231G/A), located within a Foxa binding site. We tested the cis-regulatory effects of rs573225 on promoter activity and its association with insulin response to oral glucose. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Functional effects of rs573225 were explored in transfected INS-1 and HIT-T β-cell lines. A total of 734 young obese subjects of European ancestry were genotyped for rs573225. Insulin and glucose levels were measured in response to oral glucose, and the insulinogenic index (IGI) of insulin secretion was calculated. RESULTS—In vitro, the G allele showed a higher affinity for binding Foxa2 transcription factor and increased G6PC2 promoter activity. Foxa2 binding is modified if the C adjacent to the G allele is methylated. IGI was associated with rs573225 by linear regression analysis and was 30% greater in AA or AG than in GG obese children. rs573225 was also associated with fasting glucose. CONCLUSIONS—rs573225 is a functional cis-regulatory (epi)-single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of G6PC2 associated with glucose-insulin homeostasis in obese children, likely to explain the results of recent genome-wide association studies in nondiabetic adults.
Growing Substrates for Organic Lettuce Production in Kuwait

The demands for organically produced vegetable are increasing all over the world including Kuwait. Therefore, efforts are being made to develop an appropriate package of practices for organic greenhouse vegetable production under Kuwait's harsh climatic conditions. Several experiments were conducted to select suitable growing substrate for production of organic leafy vegetables like Iceberg lettuce and red oak leaf lettuce. Ready to use commercial substrates were compared with locally formulated growing based on vegetative growth parameters like height, number of leaves and chlorophyll index. The results showed that plants grown in locally formulated growing substrates were similar to those grown in ready-to-use commercial substrates. The local medium can be recommended as an alternative to expensive commercial substrates as it reduced the cost significantly; however further improvements in its composition is required to ensure greater productivity.
Exploring Washback Effects on IELTS Teachers' Cognition and Teaching Practices

A Master of Arts thesis in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) by Sobia Afzal entitled, "Exploring Washback Effects on IELTS Teachers' Cognition and Teaching Practices," submitted December 2016. Thesis advisor is Dr. Betty Lanteigne. Soft and hard copy available.
Multidetector CT-generated virtual bronchoscopy: an illustrated review of the potential clinical indications

Multidetector computed tomography-generated virtual bronchoscopy (VB) is a recent technical development that allows visualisation of the lumen and wall of the trachea and proximal part of the bronchial tree. A dynamic image is produced that resembles what is seen with fibreoptic bronchoscopy (FB). Although the technique has not yet reached daily clinical practice and it can never replace FB, performing VB can be useful in well-defined clinical situations. In this paper, the value and limitations of virtual bronchoscopy will be reviewed, to illustrate the potential role of virtual bronchoscopy in the evaluation of trachea and bronchial tree pathology.
Global Habitat Suitability and Ecological Niche Separation in the Phylum Placozoa

The enigmatic placozoans, which hold a key position in the metazoan Tree of Life, have attracted substantial attention in many areas of biological and biomedical research. While placozoans have become an emerging model system, their ecology and particularly biogeography remain widely unknown. In this study, we use modelling approaches to explore habitat preferences, and distribution pattern of the placozoans phylum. We provide hypotheses for discrete ecological niche separation between genetic placozoan lineages, which may also help to understand biogeography patterns in other small marine invertebrates. We, here, used maximum entropy modelling to predict placozoan distribution using 20 environmental grids of 9.2 km2 resolution. In addition, we used recently developed metrics of niche overlap to compare habitat suitability models of three genetic clades. The predicted distributions range from 55°N to 44°S and are restricted to regions of intermediate to warm sea surface temperatures. High concentrations of salinity and low nutrient concentrations appear as secondary factors. Tests of niche equivalency reveal the largest differences between placozoan clades I and III. Interestingly, the genetically well-separated clades I and V appear to be ecologically very similar. Our habitat suitability models predict a wider latitudinal distribution for placozoans, than currently described, especially in the northern hemisphere. With respect to biogeography modelling, placozoans show patterns somewhere between higher metazoan taxa and marine microorganisms, with the first group usually showing complex biogeographies and the second usually showing “no biogeography. ”
Sustainability in Fashion Business Operations

Under the global trend of sustainability, many companies selling fashion products have to reshape their operational strategies. Over the past few years, we have witnessed many fashion companies going green by re-engineering their business processes and establishing their formal sustainability programs. Many important topics, such as closed-loop supply chain management, corporate social responsibility, and economic sustainability, are all related to sustainable fashion business operations management. This paper provides a brief review of these critical topics, introduces the special issue, and proposes future research areas to achieve sustainable operations management in the fashion business.
FluxAnalyzer: exploring structure, pathways, and flux distributions in metabolic networks on interactive flux maps

MOTIVATION The analysis of structure, pathways and flux distributions in metabolic networks has become an important approach for understanding the functionality of metabolic systems. The need of a user-friendly platform for stoichiometric modeling of metabolic networks in silico is evident. RESULTS The FluxAnalyzer is a package for MATLAB and facilitates integrated pathway and flux analysis for metabolic networks within a graphical user interface. Arbitrary metabolic network models can be composed by instances of four types of network elements. The abstract network model is linked with network graphics leading to interactive flux maps which allow for user input and display of calculation results within a network visualization. Therein, a large and powerful collection of tools and algorithms can be applied interactively including metabolic flux analysis, flux optimization, detection of topological features and pathway analysis by elementary flux modes or extreme pathways. The FluxAnalyzer has been applied and tested for complex networks with more than 500,000 elementary modes. Some aspects of the combinatorial complexity of pathway analysis in metabolic networks are discussed. AVAILABILITY Upon request from the corresponding author. Free for academic users (license agreement). Special contracts are available for industrial corporations. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION http://www.mpi-magdeburg.mpg. de/projects/fluxanalyzer.
Convergence Behavior of Matrix-Based Iterative Transceiver Optimization

We analyze and compare two iterative algorithms for the joint optimization of powers and receive strategies in a multiuser network. The design goal is to minimize the total power while fulfilling individual QoS requirements. This problem can be solved by the fixed-point iteration proposed by Yates, (1995) as well as by a recently proposed matrix-based iteration (M. Schubert and H. Boche, 2006; H. Boche et al., 2005). It was observed in the literature that the matrix-based iteration has an excellent convergence speed. However, an analytical investigation of the convergence behavior has been an open problem so far. In this paper, we show that the matrix-based iteration performs better than the fixed-point iteration in each step, given the same initialization. The resulting sequence of power vectors is component-wise monotonic decreasing. We also show that the matrix-based iteration has super-linear convergence. If the underlying interference functions are smooth, then the algorithm even has quadratic convergence, whereas the convergence of the fixed-point iteration is only linear, and depends on the system load. This explains the convergence behavior observed from simulations
Blindfolded Imitation in a Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)

Author(s): Jaakkola, Kelly; Guarino, Emily; Rodriguez, Mandy | Abstract: This study investigated the ability of a bottlenose dolphin to adapt a previously learned "do-as-I-do"procedure to copy behaviors of another dolphin while blindfolded (i.e., wearing eyecups). In Experiment 1, the dolphin was able to copy both vocal and motor behaviors, whether blindfolded or sighted. Hydrophone recordings showed that he echolocated during many of the motor behaviors while blindfolded. In Experiment 2, blindfolded human trainers were able to identify the same model behaviors on the basis of their characteristic sounds. While it thus remains unclear whether the dolphin recognized the motor behaviors via echolocation or via their characteristic sounds, this is the first demonstration of such flexibility in using a new perceptual route to motor imitation in a nonhuman animal.
Systemic tolerance and secretory immunity after oral immunization

Diminished systemic immune reaction after ingestion of antigen has been reported in several animal models. Conversely, it has been reported recently that oral immunization may lead to the production of secretory antibodies. To determine whether these events could occur concurrently, CBA/J mice were immunized intragastrically with varying doses of ovalbumin (OVA) and Streptococcus mutans. After 7 d, the animals were challenged systemically with antigen in complete adjuvant and 8 d later serum and saliva taken, and the draining lymph nodes assayed for a proliferative response. Intragastric doses of 1 mg OVA or 10(9) S. mutans led to significant suppression of the proliferative response, and intragastric doses of 10 mg OVA or 2.5 X 10(9) S. mutans led to the production of detectable salivary antibodies using hemagglutination. Serum antibodies were not detected after intragastric administration of OVA or S. mutans. Suppression of the proliferative response could be detected from 2-60 d after intragastric administration of OVA, and 2-21 d after S. mutans. Prior intragastric immunization with heterologous antigens did not suppress the response to OVA or S. mutans. Transfer of 40 X 10(6) mesenteric lymph node cells from mice given 20 mg OVA or 10(9) S. mutans led to suppression of the proliferative response in syngeneic recipients. Salivary antibodies wer removed by absorption with anti-IgA, but not anti-IgG or IgM, indicating that they were of the IgA class. It appears that intragastric administration of soluble or particulate antigens in mice may lead to the concurrent induction of salivary antibodies and systemic suppression.
International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science and Software Engineering

— Scheduling is a critical problem in Cloud computing, because a cloud provider has to serve many users in Cloud computing system. So scheduling is the major issue in establishing Cloud computing systems. A good scheduling technique also helps in proper and efficient utilization of the resources. Many scheduling techniques have been developed by the researchers like GA (Genetic Algorithm), PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization), Min-Min, Max-Min, X-Sufferage etc. This paper proposes a new scheduling algorithm which is an improved version of Genetic Algorithm. In the proposed scheduling algorithm the Min-Min and Max-Min scheduling methods are merged in standard Genetic Algorithm. Min-Min, Max-Min and Genetic Scheduling techniques are discussed and in the last the performance of the standard Genetic Algorithm and proposed improved Genetic Algorithm is compared and is shown by graphs.
The gauge theory of dislocations: a uniformly moving screw dislocation

In this paper, we present the equations of motion of a moving screw dislocation in the framework of the translation gauge theory of dislocations. In the gauge field theoretical formulation, a dislocation is a massive gauge field. We calculate the gauge field theoretical solutions of a uniformly moving screw dislocation. We give the subsonic and supersonic solutions. Thus, supersonic dislocations are not forbidden from the field theoretical point of view. We show that the elastic divergences at the dislocation core are removed. We also discuss the Mach cones produced by supersonic screw dislocations.
CHAPTER 9 INTELLIGENT INTERFACES AS AGENTS

An intelligent interface cannot just respond passively to its user’s commands and queries. It must be able to take the initiative in order to volunteer information, correct user misconceptions, or reject unethical user requests. To do these things, a system must be an intelligent agent. UCEgo is the intelligent agent component of UC (UNIX Consultant), a natural-language system that helps the user solve problems in using the UNIX operating system. UCEgo provides UC with its own goals and plans. By adopting different goals in different situations, UCEgo creates and executes different plans, enabling it to interact intelligently with the user. UCEgo adopts goals from its themes, adopts subgoals during planning, and adopts metagoals for dealing with goal interactions. It also adopts goals when it notices that the user either lacks necessary knowledge or has incorrect beliefs. In these cases, UCEgo plans to volunteer information or correct the user’s misconception, as appropriate. This is a reprint of chapter 9 in Joseph W. Sullivan and Sherman W. Tyler (Eds.), Intelligent User Interfaces, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1991, pp. 127–206. This research was supported in part by the Office of Naval Research, under grant N0014-48-C-0732; the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DoD), under Darpa Order No. 4871, monitored by Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command under Contract N00039-84-C-0089; the National Science Foundation under grant #85-14890; and Hughes Aircraft grant #442427-59868.
Evolutionary Multiperiod Asset Allocation

Portfolio construction can become a very-complicated problem, as regulatory constraints, individual investor's requirements, non-trivial indices of risk and subjective quality measures are taken into account, together with multiple investment horizons and cash-flow planning. This problem is approached using a tree of possible scenarios for the future, and an evolutionary algorithm is used to optimize an investment plan against the desired criteria and the possible scenarios. An application to a real defined benefit pension fund case is discussed.
Localization of estrogen receptors- (cid:1) and - (cid:2) and androgen receptor in the human growth plate at different pubertal stages

Sex steroids are required for a normal pubertal growth spurt and fusion of the human epiphyseal growth plate. However, the localization of sex steroid receptors in the human pubertal growth plate remains controversial. We have investigated the expression of estrogen receptor (ER) (cid:1) , ER (cid:2) and androgen receptor (AR) in biopsies of proximal tibial growth plates obtained during epiphyseal surgery in 16 boys and eight girls. All pubertal stages were represented (Tanner stages 1–5). ER (cid:1) , ER (cid:2) and AR were visualized with immunohistochemistry and the number of receptor-positive cells was counted using an image analysis system. Percent receptor-positive chondrocytes were assessed in the resting, proliferative and hypertrophic zones and evaluated for sex di ﬀ erences and pubertal trends. Both ER (cid:1) - and ER (cid:2) -positive cells were detected at a greater frequency in the resting and proliferative zones than in the hypertrophic zone (64 (cid:1) 2%, 64 (cid:1) 2% compared with 38 (cid:1) 3% for ER (cid:1) , and 63 (cid:1) 3%, 66 (cid:1) 3% compared with 53 (cid:1) 3% for ER (cid:2) ), whereas AR was more abundant in the resting (65 (cid:1) 3%) and hypertrophic zones (58 (cid:1) 3%) than in the proliferative zone (41 (cid:1) 3%). No sex di ﬀ erence in the patterns of expression was detected. For ER (cid:1) and AR, the percentage of receptor-positive cells was similar at all Tanner pubertal stages, whereas ER (cid:2) showed a slight decrease in the proliferative zone during pubertal development ( P < 0·05). In summary, our ﬁndings suggest that ER (cid:1) , ER (cid:2) and AR are expressed in the human growth plate throughout pubertal development, with no di ﬀ erence between the sexes.
Power law cosmology - a viable alternative

A power law cosmology is defined by the cosmological scale factor evolving as t � . In this work, we put bounds onby using the joint test of the SNe Ia data from Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS) and H(z) data with curvature constant k = 0, ±1. We observe that the combined analysis with SNLS and H(z) data favours the open power law cosmology with � = 1.31 +0.06
Infants' Visual Recognition of Pincer Grip Emerges Between 9 and 12 Months of Age.

The development of the ability to recognize the whole human body shape has long been investigated in infants, while less is known about their ability to recognize the shape of single body parts, and in particular their biomechanical constraints. This study aimed to explore whether 9- and 12-month-old infants have knowledge of a hand-grasping movement (i.e., pincer grip), being able to recognize violations of the hand's anatomical constraints during the observation of that movement. Using a preferential looking paradigm, we showed that 12-month-olds discriminate between biomechanically possible and impossible pincer grips, preferring the former over the latter (Experiment 1). This capacity begins to emerge by 9 months of age, modulated by infants' own sensorimotor experience with pincer grip (Experiment 2). Our findings indicate that the ability to visually discriminate between pincer grasps differing in their biomechanical properties develops between 9 and 12 months of age, and that experience with self-produced hand movements might help infants in building a representation of the hand that encompasses knowledge of the physical constraints of this body part.
Toward an Operational Bare Soil Moisture Mapping Using TerraSAR-X Data Acquired Over Agricultural Areas

TerraSAR-X data are processed for an “operational” mapping of bare soils moisture in agricultural areas. Empirical relationships between TerraSAR-X signal and soil moisture were established and validated over different North European agricultural study sites. The results show that the mean error on the soil moisture estimation is less than 4% regardless of the TerraSAR-X configuration (incidence angle, polarization) and the soil surface characteristics (soil surface roughness, soil composition). Furthermore, the potential of TerraSAR-X data (signal, texture features) to discriminate bare soils from other land cover classes in an agricultural watershed was evaluated. The mean signal backscattered from bare soils can be easily differentiated from signals from other land cover classes when the neighboring plots are covered by fully developed crops. This was observed regardless of the TerraSAR-X configuration and the soil moisture conditions. When neighboring plots are covered by early growth crops, a TerraSAR-X image acquired under wet conditions can be useful for discriminating bare soils. Bare soil masks were calculated by object-oriented classifications of mono-configuration TerraSAR-X data. The overall accuracies of the bare soils mapping were higher than 84% for validation based on object and pixel. The bare soils mapping method and the soil moisture relationships were applied to TerraSAR-X images to generate soil moisture maps. The results show that TerraSAR-X sensors provide useful data for monitoring the spatial variations of soil moisture at the within-plot scale. The methods of bare soils moisture mapping developed in this paper can be used in operational applications in agriculture, and hydrology.
NUCLEOLYTIC ACTIVITIES IN PEPPER LEAVES REACTING HYPERSENSITIVELY TO XANTHOMONAS CAMPESTRIS PV. VESICATORIA

A substrate-based gel assay was used to determine RNase and DNase activities in the incompatible interaction between pepper leaves (cv. ‘Early Calwonder 10R’) and the avirulent race 2 of Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria from 0 to 24 hours after inoculation, and for comparison in leaves inoculated with the virulent race 1 of the same bacterium (compatible interaction). Two major bands of RNase activity, with apparent molecular mass of 18 and 27 kDa were detected in pepper leaf extracts. Both activities were markedly inhibited by Mg2+ and Zn2+; activity of the 18 kDa RNase was stimulated by Ca2+. Activity banding at 25 kDa activity, degrading both RNA and DNA as substrate (nuclease activity) and inhibited by EDTA and Zn2+, was detected in bacterial cell extracts and in culture fluids of both races 1 and 2 of X. campestris pv. vesicatoria. No significant changes in plant nucleolytic activity were detected in hypersensitively reacting leaves, whereas an increase in the bacterial 25 kDa activity band was observed in both compatible and incompatible interactions.
Ummah or tribe? Islamic practice, political ethnocentrism, and political attitudes in Indonesia

ABSTRACT Existing research has uncovered a link between religious practice and political ethnocentrism. Religious individuals are relatively inclined to both support policies that benefit their own ethnic group and support political competitors seeking to represent them. These findings are broadly consistent with a large body of literature that examines the relationship between religion and ethnic prejudice. To date, empirical research has concentrated overwhelmingly on Western, Christian contexts. There is, however, reason to believe that Islamic practice may produce more universalistic beliefs and attitudes. This paper examines the relationship between religious participation and political ethnocentrism in Indonesia, this world’s largest Muslim-majority country. Using survey data collected during the lead-up to the 2009 national elections, this paper examines the relationship between religious practice and expressed preference for co-ethnic political leadership. It finds that a respondent’s self-reported level of religious activity strongly correlates with stated preference for co-ethnic leadership. These findings bolster confidence that the relationship between religious participation and ethnocentrism holds beyond Western Christian contexts. For Indonesia, deepening Islamic practice could thus predict a rise in ethnocentrism, threatening the country’s reputation for tolerance.