Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic and Epigenetic Mechanisms Linking Air Pollution and Congenital Heart Disease

Epidemiological studies strongly suggest that parental air pollutants exposure during the periconceptional period may play a major role in causing fetal/newborn malformations, including a frequent heterogeneity in the methods applied and a difficulty in estimating the clear effect of environmental toxicants. Moreover, only some couples exposed to toxicants during the pre-conception period give birth to a child with congenital anomalies. The reasons for such phenomena remain elusive but they can be explained by the individual, innate ability to metabolize these contaminants that eventually defines the ultimate dose of a biological active toxicant. In this paper, we reviewed the major evidence regarding the role of parental air pollutant exposure on congenital heart disease (CHD) risk as well as the modulating effect on detoxification systems. Finally, major epigenetic alterations induced by adverse environment contaminants have been revised as possible mechanisms altering a correct heart morphogenesis.
SAUDI UNDERGRADUATE EFL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS LEARNING TOGETHER STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION IN AN EFL READING COMPREHENSION COURSE

The importance of reading comprehension proficiency in enhancing the academic success, development and growth of students’ logical, intellectual, critical, emotional, social aspects and linguistic competencies is well documented. However, there is poor performance by Saudi EFL learners in reading comprehension section at both TOEFL and IELTS tests. This might be attributed to the negative perceptions Saudi EFL learners have towards reading comprehension instruction. These negative perceptions held by Saudi EFL learners towards EFL reading comprehension instruction might be due to the fact that the majority of Saudi English as a foreign language of students have been taught by conventional teaching methods. Therefore, these negative perceptions may be modified positively by applying an effective teaching method like learning together strategy of cooperative learning that may be capable of improving students’ academic achievement, perceptions and liking of EFL reading comprehension. This study aimed to investigate the effects of learning together strategy of cooperative learning on Saudi EFL undergraduate students’ perceptions towards EFL reading comprehension. The pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was employed since Qassim University departmental system does not allow randomization of individual students. Forty EFL third-level students of Unaizah Science and Arts College taking EFL Reading Comprehension course took part in this study. The students took a pre- learning together strategy survey, then they received a learning together strategy instruction and finally they took a post-learning together strategy survey. Results of this study revealed higher positive perceptions for students using learning together strategy in the post- learning together strategy than those in the pre-learning together strategy survey. The study concluded that learning together strategy of cooperative learning has several pedagogical implications for EFL reading comprehension instruction.
An Artificial Light Source Influences Mating and Oviposition of Black Soldier Flies, Hermetia illucens

Abstract Current methods for mass-rearing black soldier flies, Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), in the laboratory are dependent on sunlight. Quartz-iodine lamps and rare earth lamps were examined as artificial light sources for stimulating H. illucens to mate and lay eggs. Sunlight was used as the control. Adults in the quartz-iodine lamp treatment had a mating rate of 61% of those in the sunlight control. No mating occurred when the rare earth lamp was used as a substitute. Egg hatch for the quartz-iodine lamp and sunlight treatments occurred in approximately 4 days, and the hatch rate was similar between these two treatments. Larval and pupal development under these treatments required approximately 18 and 15 days at 28° C, respectively. Development of methods for mass rearing of H. illucens using artificial light will enable production of this fly throughout the year without investing in greenhouse space or requiring sunlight.
Students' Perceived ERP Competence Gains: Evidence from an African Case Study

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have had a significant impact on business organisations to-date. As a result, numerous attempts to incorporate ERP experiences into university curricula have been made. Literature suggests many advantages and benefits of such integrated experiences, however quantitative evidence is not typically provided. This paper describes perceived competence gains through different modes of ERP education from an ERP curriculum collaboration project across Sub-Saharan Africa. A review of literature regarding ERP roles, competencies, education as well as the influence of cultural factors and learning environment on learning styles and outcomes is also summarised. Findings revealed moderate overall knowledge improvement (x = 3.3) using a 4-point scale (where 1 =not, 2 =a little bit, 3 = moderately and 4 =substantially). Business process knowledge and business related competencies for ERP consultants were most improved. ERP curricula is still deficient in developing interpersonal competence as this was rated the least improved competence. Achievement of competence varied significantly across academic disciplines as well as between countries. Student perceptions of their learning environment as influenced by cultural factors, were also found to have a significant impact on academic outcomes.
Quasiharmonic thermal elasticity of crystals: An analytical approach

First-principles quasiharmonic calculations play a very important role in mineral physics because they can predict the structural and thermodynamic properties of materials at pressure and temperature conditions of the Earth’s interior that are still challenging for experiments. They also enable calculations of thermal elastic properties by providing second-order derivatives of free energies with respect to strain. The latter are essential to interpret seismic tomography of the mantle in terms of temperature, composition, and mineralogy, in the context of geophysical processes. However, these are exceedingly demanding computations requiring up to ∼10 3 parallel jobs running on tens or more processors each. Here we introduce an analytical and computationally simpler approach that requires only calculations of static elastic constants and phonon density of states for unstrained configurations. This approach, currently implemented for crystals with up to orthorhombic symmetry, decreases the computational effort, i.e., CPU time and human labor, by up to two orders of magnitude. Results for the major mantle phases periclase (MgO) and forsterite (α-Mg2SiO4) show excellent agreement with previous first-principles results and experimental data.
Evolution of Endovascular Therapy in Acute Stroke: Implications of Device Development

Intravenous thrombolysis is an effective treatment for acute ischaemic stroke. However, vascular recanalization rates remain poor especially in the setting of large artery occlusion. On the other hand, endovascular intra-arterial therapy addresses this issue with superior recanalization rates compared with intravenous thrombolysis. Although previous randomized controlled studies of intra-arterial therapy failed to demonstrate superiority, the failings may be attributed to a combination of inferior intra-arterial devices and suboptimal selection criteria. The recent results of several randomized controlled trials have demonstrated significantly improved outcomes, underpinning the advantage of newer intra-arterial devices and superior recanalization rates, leading to renewed interest in establishing intra-arterial therapy as the gold standard for acute ischaemic stroke. The aim of this review is to outline the history and development of different intra-arterial devices and future directions in research.
A Vision-Based Methodology to Dynamically Track and Describe Cell Deformation during Cell Micromanipulation

The main objective of this article is to mechanize the procedure of tracking and describing the various phases of deformation of a biological circular cell during micromanipulation. The devised vision-based methodology provides a real-time strategy to track and describe the cell deformation by extracting a geometric feature called dimple angle. An algorithm based on Snake was established to acquire the boundary of the indenting cell and measure the aforementioned feature. Micromanipulation experiments were conducted for zebrafish embryos. Experimental results were used to characterize the deformation of the manipulating embryo by the devised geometric parameter. The results demonstrated the high capability of the methodology. The proposed method is applicable to the micromanipulation of other circular biological embryos such as injection of the mouse oocyte/embryo. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of the International Journal of Optomechatronics to view the supplemental files.
Personal assistance from family members as an unwanted situation, an optimal solution or an additional good? The Swedish example

Abstract The aim of this article was to explore how users experienced and managed personal assistance from family members who are employed as personal assistants. Seventeen users of personal assistance provided by one or several family members, often in combination with external personal assistants, participated. Thematic qualitative interviews were conducted. The participants were between 19 and 58 years old, and were living with various impairments: mobility, sensory and/or learning disabilities. The results showed that personal assistance from family members could both promote and be a barrier to disabled people’s control over their own lives and participation in society. It became evident that the situation could have both advantages and disadvantages for both parties, which puts the focus on the interdependency between the participants and their family assistants. However, the results also points to a potential risk that the welfare state (re)passes its responsibilities back on to disabled people and their families.
θ dependence of the spectrum of SU(N) gauge theories

We study the θ dependence of the spectrum of four-dimensional SU(N) gauge theories, where θ is the coefficient of the topological term in the Lagrangian, for N ≥ 3 and in the large-N limit. We compute the O(θ2) terms of the expansions around θ = 0 of the string tension and the lowest glueball mass, respectively σ(θ) = σ(1+s2θ2+.) and M(θ) = M(1+g2θ2+.), where σ and M are the values at θ = 0. For this purpose we use numerical simulations of the Wilson lattice formulation of SU(N) gauge theories for N = 3,4,6. The O(θ2) coefficients turn out to be very small for all N ≥ 3. For example, s2 = −0.08(1) and g2 = −0.06(2) for N = 3. Their absolute values decrease with increasing N. Our results are suggestive of a scenario in which the θ dependence in the string and glueball spectrum vanishes in the large-N limit, at least for sufficiently small values of |θ|. They support the general large-N scaling arguments that indicate ≡θ/N as the relevant Lagrangian parameter in the large-N expansion.
Implementing optimal outcomes in social computing: a game-theoretic approach

In many social computing applications such as online Q&A forums, the best contribution for each task receives some high reward, while all remaining contributions receive an identical, lower reward irrespective of their actual qualities. Suppose a mechanism designer (site owner) wishes to optimize an objective that is some function of the number and qualities of received contributions. When potential contributors are {\em strategic} agents, who decide whether to contribute or not to selfishly maximize their own utilities, is such a "best contribution" mechanism, Mb, adequate to implement an outcome that is optimal for the mechanism designer? We first show that in settings where a contribution's value is determined primarily by an agent's expertise, and agents only strategically choose whether to contribute or not, contests can implement optimal outcomes: for any reasonable objective, the rewards for the best and remaining contributions in Mb can always be chosen so that the outcome in the unique symmetric equilibrium of Mb maximizes the mechanism designer's utility. We also show how the mechanism designer can learn these optimal rewards when she does not know the parameters of the agents' utilities, as might be the case in practice. We next consider settings where a contribution's value depends on both the contributor's expertise as well as her effort, and agents endogenously choose how much effort to exert in addition to deciding whether to contribute. Here, we show that optimal outcomes can never be implemented by contests if the system can rank the qualities of contributions perfectly. However, if there is noise in the contributions' rankings, then the mechanism designer can again induce agents to follow strategies that maximize his utility. Thus imperfect rankings can actually help achieve implementability of optimal outcomes when effort is endogenous and influences quality.
Every abelian group is a class group.

Let T be the set of minimal primes of a Krull domain A. If S is a subset of T9 we form B = n AP for PeS and study the relation of the class group of B to that of A. We find that the class group of B is always a homomorphic image of that of A. We use this type of construction to obtain a Krull domain with specified class group and then alter such a Krull domain to obtain a Dedekind domain with the same class group. Let A be a Krull domain with quotient field K. Thus A is an intersection of rank 1 discrete valuation rings; and if x e K, x is a unit in all but a finite number of these valuation rings. If P is a minimal prime ideal of A, then AP is a rank 1 discrete valuation ring and must occur in any intersection displaying A as a Krull domain. In fact, if T denotes the set of minimal prime ideals of A, then A = OPΘΓAP displays A as a Krull domain. Choose a subset S of T (S Φ 0) and form the domain B — Γ\pesAp. It is immediate that B is also a Krull domain which contains A and has quotient field K. If one of the AP were eliminable from the intersection representing B, it would also be eliminable from that representing A. Thus the AP for PeS are exactly the rings of the type BQ, where Q is a minimal prime ideal of B. If Q is minimal prime ideal of B, then Q Π A = P for the Pe S such that BQ = AP. Let A and B be generic labels throughout this paper for a Krull domain A and a Krull domain B formed from A as above. We recall that the valuation rings AP are called the essential valuation rings, and we will denote by VP the valuation of A going with AP. We summarize and add a complement to the above. PROPOSITION 1. With A and B as above, B is a Krull domain containing A, and the AP for PeS are the essential valuation rings of JB. Every ring B is of the form AM for some multiplicative set M if and only if the class group of A is torsion.
Segregation of chromatic and luminance signals using a novel grating stimulus

Signals leaving the retina must transfer information about the luminance and chromatic dimensions of the natural world. It has been suggested that, to optimize information transmission, these signals should be strictly segregated in different pathways, such as the parvocellular and magnocellular systems. Another suggestion is that signals about luminance and colour may be combined in the parvocellular pathway. We compared physiological and psychophysical responses to gratings that compound both luminance and colour to responses with pure luminance colour and gratings. The results strongly support the idea of strict segregation of luminance and chromatic signals in the afferent visual pathway.
The Derived Allele of ASPM Is Associated with Lexical Tone Perception

The ASPM and MCPH1 genes have been implicated in the adaptive evolution of the human brain [Mekel-Bobrov N. et al., 2005. Ongoing adaptive evolution of ASPM, a brain size determinant in homo sapiens. Science 309; Evans P.D. et al., 2005. Microcephalin, a gene regulating brain size, continues to evolve adaptively in humans. Science 309]. Curiously, experimental attempts have failed to connect the implicated SNPs in these genes with higher-level brain functions. These results stand in contrast with a population-level study linking the population frequency of their alleles with the tendency to use lexical tones in a language [Dediu D. , Ladd D.R. , 2007. Linguistic tone is related to the population frequency of the adaptive haplogroups of two brain size genes, ASPM and microcephalin. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104]. In the present study, we found a significant correlation between the load of the derived alleles of ASPM and tone perception in a group of European Americans who did not speak a tone language. Moreover, preliminary results showed a significant correlation between ASPM load and hemodynamic responses to lexical tones in the auditory cortex, and such correlation remained after phonemic awareness, auditory working memory, and non-verbal IQ were controlled. As in previous studies, no significant correlation between ASPM and cognitive measures were found. MCPH1 did not correlate with any measures. These results suggest that the association between the recently derived allele of ASPM is likely to be specific and is tied to higher level brain functions in the temporal cortex related to human communication.
Diffuse interstellar bands in z < 0.6 Ca ii absorbers★

The diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) probably arise from complex organic molecules whose strength in local galaxies correlates with neutral hydrogen column density, N(H i), and dust reddening, E(B−V). Because Ca ii absorbers in quasar (QSO) spectra are posited to have high N(H i) and significant E(B−V), they represent promising sites for the detection of DIBs at cosmological distances. Here we present the results from the first search for DIBs in nine Ca ii-selected absorbers at 0.07 < zabs < 0.55. We detect the 5780-A DIB in one line of sight at zabs= 0.1556; this is only the second QSO absorber in which a DIB has been detected. Unlike the majority of local DIB sight-lines, both QSO absorbers with detected DIBs show weak 6284-A absorption compared with the 5780-A band. This may be indicative of different physical conditions in intermediate redshift QSO absorbers compared with local galaxies. Assuming that local relations between the 5780-A DIB strength and N(H i) and E(B−V) apply in QSO absorbers, DIB detections and limits can be used to derive N(H i) and E(B−V). For the one absorber in this study with a detected DIB, we derive E(B−V) = 0.23 mag and log N(H i) ≥ 20.9, consistent with previous conclusions that Ca ii systems have high H i column densities and significant reddening. For the remaining eight Ca ii-selected absorbers with 5780-A DIB non-detections, we derive E(B−V) upper limits of 0.1–0.3 mag.
The Economic Crisis is a Crisis for Economic Theory

This article examines, in the light of recent events, the origins of the difficulties that current macroeconomic models have in encompassing the sort of sudden crisis which we are currently observing. The reasons for this are partly due to fundamental problems with the underlying General Equilibrium theory and partly to the unrealistic assumptions on which most financial models are based. What is common to the two is that systematic warnings over more than a century in the case of finance and over 30 years in the case of equilibrium theory have been ignored and we have persisted with models which are both unsound theoretically and incompatible with the data. It is suggested that we drop the unrealistic individual basis for aggregate behaviour and the even more unreasonable assumption that the aggregate behaves like such a 'rational' individual. We should rather analyse the economy as a complex adaptive system, and take the network structure that governs interaction into account. Models that do this, of which two examples are given, unlike standard macroeconomic models, may at least enable us to envisage major 'phase transitions' in the economy even if we are unlikely to be able to forecast the timing of their onset. (JEL codes: B22, D84, D85, E10, E44) Copyright The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Ifo Institute for Economic Research, Munich. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org, Oxford University Press.
Ontogeny‐based immunogens for the induction of V2‐directed HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies

The development of a preventative HIV vaccine able to elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) remains a major challenge. Antibodies that recognize the V2 region at the apex of the HIV envelope trimer are among the most common bNAb specificities during chronic infection and many exhibit remarkable breadth and potency. Understanding the developmental pathway of these antibodies has provided insights into their precursors, and the viral strains that engage them, as well as defined how such antibodies mature to acquire breadth. V2‐apex bNAbs are derived from rare precursors with long anionic CDR H3s that are often deleted in the B cell repertoire. However, longitudinal studies suggest that once engaged, these precursors contain many of the structural elements required for neutralization, and can rapidly acquire breadth through moderate levels of somatic hypermutation in response to emerging viral variants. These commonalities in the precursors and mechanism of neutralization have enabled the identification of viral strains that show enhanced reactivity for V2 precursors from multiple donors, and may form the basis of germline targeting approaches. In parallel, new structural insights into the HIV trimer, the target of these quaternary antibodies, has created invaluable new opportunities for ontogeny‐based immunogens designed to select for rare V2‐bNAb precursors, and drive them toward breadth.
Acquisition of External Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I Molecules by Natural Killer Cells Expressing Inhibitory Ly49 Receptors

Murine natural killer (NK) cells express inhibitory Ly49 receptors specific for major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules. We report that during interactions with cells in the environment, NK cells acquired MHC class I ligands from surrounding cells in a Ly49-specific fashion and displayed them at the cell surface. Ligand acquisition sometimes reached 20% of the MHC class I expression on surrounding cells, involved transfer of the entire MHC class I protein to the NK cell, and was independent of whether or not the NK cell expressed the MHC class I ligand itself. We also present indirect evidence for spontaneous MHC class I acquisition in vivo, as well as describe an in vitro coculture system with transfected cells in which the same phenomenon occurred. Functional studies in the latter model showed that uptake of H-2Dd by Ly49A+ NK cells was accompanied by a partial inactivation of cytotoxic activity in the NK cell, as tested against H-2Dd-negative target cells. In addition, ligand acquisition did not abrogate the ability of Ly49A+ NK cells to receive inhibitory signals from external H-2Dd molecules. This study is the first to describe ligand acquisition by NK cells, which parallels recently described phenomena in T and B cells.