Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of retinoic acid in embryonic and post-embryonic development

Retinoic acid (RA) is the bioactive metabolite of vitamin A (retinol) which acts on cells to establish or change the pattern of gene activity. Retinol is converted to RA by the action of two types of enzyme, retinol dehydrogenases and retinal dehydrogenases. In the nucleus RA acts as a ligand to activate two families of transcription factors, the RA receptors (RAR) and the retinoid X receptors (RXR) which heterodimerize and bind to the upstream sequences of RA-responsive genes. Thus, in addition to the well-established experimental paradigm of depriving animals of vitamin A to determine the role of RA in embryonic and post-embryonic development, molecular biology has provided us with two additional methodologies: knockout the enzymes or the RAR and RXR in the mouse embryo. The distribution of the enzymes and receptors, and recent experiments to determine the endogenous distribution of RA in the embryo are described here, as well as the effects on the embryo of knocking out the enzymes and receptors. In addition, recent studies using the classical vitamin A-deprivation technique are described, as they have provided novel insights into the regions of the embryo which crucially require RA, and the gene pathways involved in their development. Finally, the post-embryonic or regenerating systems in which RA plays a part are described, i.e. the regenerating limb, lung regeneration, hair cell regeneration in the ear and spinal cord regeneration in the adult.
Does economic inequality breed political inequality?

ABSTRACT Does economic inequality generate political inequality? While there is a large literature on the effect of inequality on regime change and support for democracy, there is little research on its effect on political equality across socioeconomic positions. Yet democracy and political equality, although related, are distinct concepts. While political power tends to be more evenly distributed in democracies than in autocracies, there is substantial variation in both regime types. This study argues that economic inequality should decrease political equality through multiple mechanisms: (1) it increases the resources of the rich relative to the poor; (2) it widens the gap in policy preferences across income groups; (3) it reduces participation; and (4) it depresses support for democracy. Using three measures of inequality and data on more than 140 countries between 1961 and 2008, it was found that economic inequality tends to increase political inequality, even when one controls for the level of democracy. Results hold when the sample is restricted by regime type. Finally, evidence in favour of the mechanisms is provided.
Heavy Metal Accumulation and the Genotoxicity in Barbel (Barbus barbus) as Indicators of the Danube River Pollution

The aim of this study was to analyze 16 trace elements (Al, As, B, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sr, and Zn) in different barbel (Barbus barbus) tissues and to detect the presence of genotoxic effects in erythrocytes with the alkaline comet assay. Barbel specimens were collected in the Danube river near Belgrade, Serbia, where the discharge of untreated communal and industrial wastewaters is likely to produce negative effects on fish residing in this area. The highest concentrations of Sr, Mn, Fe, Ba, B, and Al were found in gills, Mo and Cu in liver, and As and Zn in gonads. Concentrations of Zn and Fe were above maximum acceptable concentrations (MACs) in a number of gonad, gill, and liver samples. Three-year-old barbel specimens had higher tail moment and Zn concentrations in gills (1.71 and 51.20 μg/g dw, resp.) than 5-year-old specimens (0.85 and 42.51 μg/g dw, resp.). Results indicate that the younger barbel specimens might be more suitable for the monitoring of environmental pollution.
Cognitive Levels of Questions Used by Iranian EFL Teachers in Advanced Reading Comprehension Tests.

This study examined the cognitive levels of questions used by Iranian EFL teachers in advanced reading comprehension tests. Twenty teachers participated in this study and generated 215 questions which were then categorized according to Bloom's taxonomy. This taxonomy consists of six major categories which starts from the simplest behavior to the most complex. The lowest three levels are: knowledge, comprehension, and application. The highest three levels are: analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The results of this study showed that the most dominant question type was the 'knowledge' (54.21 %) followed by comprehension' questions (38.74 %). This indicated that, 92.43% of questions aimed at the first two levels of the taxonomy. Next to these two levels, the teachers' questions aimed at 'synthesis' (2.33%), 'application' (1.86 %), 'evaluation' (1.39%) and 'analysis' (0.47 %) level, respectively. According to this analysis only 4.19% Iranian EFL teachers-generated questions were directed toward the highest three levels of Bloom's taxonomy, and 95.81% questions were aimed at the three lowest levels of Bloom's taxonomy. So, this study indicated that Iranian EFL teachers were aiming their teaching and testing primarily at the lowest cognitive levels. The importance of developing higher level thinking skills was discussed and suggestions were offered.
The number of tumor-free axillary lymph nodes removed as a prognostic parameter for node-negative breast cancer

Recently, there has been controversy about the relationship between the number of lymph nodes removed and survival of patients diagnosed with lymph node-negative breast cancer. To assess this relationship, 603 cases of lymph node-negative breast cancer with a median of 126 months of follow-up data were studied. Patients were stratified into two groups (Group A, 10 or fewer tumor-free lymph nodes removed; Group B, more than 10 tumor-free lymph nodes removed). The number of tumor-free lymph nodes in ipsilateral axillary resections as well as 5 other disease parameters were analyzed for prognostic value. Our results revealed that the risk of death from breast cancer was significantly associated with patient age, marital status, histologic grade, tumor size, and adjuvant therapy. The 5- and 10-year survival rates for patients with 10 or fewer tumor-free lymph nodes removed was 88.0% and 66.4%, respectively, compared with 69.2% and 51.1%, respectively, for patients with more than 10 tumor-free lymph nodes removed. For patients with 10 or fewer tumor-free lymph nodes removed, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for risk of death from breast cancer was 0.579 (95% confidence interval, 0.492-0.687, P < 0.001), independent of patient age, marital status, histologic grade, tumor size, and adjuvant therapy. Our study suggests that the number of tumor-free lymph nodes removed is an independent predictor in cases of lymph node-negative breast cancer.
Emerging Adults’ Evaluation of Their Treatment in an Outpatient Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate emerging adults’ (EAs) perspectives of treatment from an outpatient program specializing in mood and anxiety disorders for EAs. A sample of 22 participants between the ages of 18 and 27 participated in semistructured interviews at least 19 months after the start of treatment. A thematic analysis was conducted on the transcripts of these interviews based on the procedure outlined in Braun and Clarke. A description of the analysis and themes was presented to a subset of participants to evaluate authenticity and credibility of the researchers’ interpretations. Participants reported lasting improvements in symptom reduction and functioning, which were accompanied by self-acceptance and feeling empowered to actively affect change in their life. They also viewed treatment as an investment in their mental health and well-being. These results reveal characteristics of intervention strategies valued by EAs that can contribute to long-term improvements.
BRIGHT ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI SOURCE LIST FROM THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THE FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE ALL-SKY SURVEY

The first three months of sky-survey operation with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope reveal 132 bright sources at |b|>10° with test statistic greater than 100 (corresponding to about 10σ). Two methods, based on the CGRaBS, CRATES, and BZCat catalogs, indicate high-confidence associations of 106 of these sources with known active galactic nuclei (AGNs). This sample is referred to as the LAT Bright AGN Sample (LBAS). It contains two radio galaxies, namely, Centaurus A and NGC 1275, and 104 blazars consisting of 58 flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs), 42 BL Lac objects, and 4 blazars with unknown classification. Four new blazars were discovered on the basis of the LAT detections. Remarkably, the LBAS includes 10 high-energy-peaked BL Lacs (HBLs), sources which were previously difficult to detect in the GeV range. Another 10 lower-confidence associations are found. Only 33 of the sources, plus two at |b| < 10°, were previously detected with Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope(EGRET), probably due to variability. The analysis of the γ-ray properties of the LBAS sources reveals that the average GeV spectra of BL Lac objects are significantly harder than the spectra of FSRQs. No significant correlation between radio and peak γ-ray fluxes is observed. Blazar log N–log S distributions and luminosity functions are constructed to investigate the evolution of the different blazar classes, with positive evolution indicated for FSRQs but none for BL Lacs. The contribution of LAT blazars to the total extragalactic γ-ray intensity is estimated.
Large creditors and corporate governance : the case of Chinese banks Yiming

Purpose – Banks are the major suppliers of external funds for companies in China. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether Chinese banks exercise effective monitoring over borrowers in two lending decisions, including loan interest rates and loan renewals. Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of Chinese public industrial firms from 2000 to 2005, the authors perform multivariate regression analysis to investigate whether banks adjust their loan interest rates and consider loan renewal decisions in response to borrowers financial performance. The authors also examine these bank lending decisions before and after 2003, when the major banking reforms started to take place in China. Findings – A negative relation was found between the loan interest rate spread and the financial performance of borrowers. However, a negative relation was found between loan renewals and the financial performance of borrowers, consistent with firms in financial difficulties being in need of more funding and hence more likely to get its bank loans renewed. Additionally, it was found that the factors banks consider when making loan decisions vary before and after 2003. Originality/value – The authors’ findings suggest that Chinese banks play a limited role in monitoring and disciplining borrowers through adjustments of loan interest rates, and that their loan renewal decisions for firms with poor financial performance highlight banks’ financing, instead of monitoring role in this transition economy. These findings provide empirical evidence on bank governance in a transition economy dominated by state-owned enterprises. The paper contributes to the literature by constructing an alternative loan renewal measure using financial statement information.
Gamma-Ray Bursts and Hypernova Explosions of Some Galactic Sources

Knowing the Kerr parameters, we can make quantitative calculations of the rotational energy of black holes. We show that Nova Sco, Il Lupi, XTE J1550-564, and GS 2023+338 are relics of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and hypernova explosions. They had more than enough rotational energy to power themselves. In fact, they had so much energy that they would have disrupted the accretion disk of the black hole that powered them by the communicated rotational energy, so that the energy delivery would have been self-limiting. The most important feature in producing high rotational energy in the binary is low donor (secondary star) mass. We suggest that V4641 Sgr and GRS 1915+105 underwent less energetic explosions, because of their large donor masses. Cyg X-1 had an even less energetic explosion, because of an even larger donor mass. We find that in the evolution of the soft X-ray transient sources the donor is tidally locked with the helium star, which evolved from the giant, as the hydrogen envelope is stripped off in common-envelope evolution. Depending on the mass of the donor, the black hole can be spun up to the angular momentum necessary to power the GRB and hypernova explosion. The donor decouples, acting as a passive witness to the explosion which, for the given angular momentum, then proceeds as in the Woosley collapsar model. High-mass donors which tend to follow from low metallicity give long GRBs because their lower energy can be accepted by the central engine.
Optimal Utility-Lifetime Trade-off in Wireless Sensor Networks : Characterization and Distributed Algorithms

The performance of wireless sensor network applications ty pically increases with the amount of data collected by the individual sensors and delivered to a s et of sinks through multi-hop routing within the network. However, the energy-constrained nature of the nodes limits the operational lifetime of the network since energy is dissipated both in sensing and in com municating data across the network. There is thus an inherent trade-off in simultaneously maximizing the application performance (characterized here by utility functions) and the network lifetime. In this paper, we characterize this trade-off by considering a cross-layer design problem that jointly maxi izes the network utility and lifetime. The solution to the problem results in optimal source rates and a lso optimal routes through the network between each source and the sink. Through the framework of “l ayering as optimization decomposition”, we show that the cross-layer design problem decomposes both vertically (across different layers of the protocol stack) and horizontally (across nodes in the netwo rk) into simpler subproblems allowing a fully distributed solution. Our formulation leverages the prese nce of a common sink node in the network to design a distributed algorithm that minimizes the energy ov erhead in its implementation. We apply our generic model to study the utility-lifetime trade-off in ne tworks with proportionally fair rate allocation and discuss practical design implications through analysi s and numerical simulations.
Robust Stability for Uncertain Genetic Regulatory Networks with Interval Time-varying Delays

The paper is to study the continuous time genetic regulatory networks to probe into the related issue of system asymptotically stable, due to the system be existence of interval time-varying delays and norm-bounded parameter uncertainty. Gene networks are being used increasingly as models to represent phenomena at the level of gene expression, how to construct models for analyzing the interaction between genes from experimental data is becoming important. In recent years researchers have proposed many methods to reconstruct gene regulatory networks based on gene expression data, such as clustering, Boolean networks, linear and non-linear model, Bayesian Networks and differential equation. For each gene category, we find its regulation patterns. By using the regulation patterns found for each gene category, we can infer the gene regulation relationships by finding the inclusive and opposite patterns between gene categories. Accordingly, these key genes can be admitted as the centers, and the whole network can further be decomposed into smaller ones, according to these centers. Finally, in order to optimize this decomposition, the boundaries among sub-networks can be determined, based on the mutual-information among sub-networks. So must to use Lyapunov–Krasovskii function, and delay-dependent stability is solved according to the skill of linear matrix inequalities. Simulation examples are to prove the validity and applicability for suggested result
‘Hardworking, determined and happy’: first-year students’ understanding and experience of success

ABSTRACT While all agree student success in higher education is important, there is less agreement on what it means to be a successful student. Student success is often measured by institutional reports of grades, student retention and qualification completion. More recently, broader definitions have emerged; however, these do not incorporate student perceptions of success. The current study addresses this gap by exploring how first-year students talk about their success. Drawing from weekly interviews of students at an Australian regional university, the data are analysed through the lens of a conceptual framework of student engagement. The findings demonstrate that success is inextricably linked with student engagement as well as other dimensions of the student experience. As expected, students assess their success extrinsically with institutional measures such as grades and feedback. In addition, their behavioural engagement was seen as a more immediate measure of their success, while happiness and satisfaction were necessary for some students to feel successful. Perceptions of success have important consequences for students in terms of increased positive emotions, self-efficacy and course belonging. Success for these students has multiple dimensions. These findings give rise to suggestions for a staged approach to supporting first-year student success. However, the student experience is complex and multifaceted and further research is needed with different student cohorts who may define and experience success in other ways.
Approaches to Delay Claims Assessment Employed in the UK Construction Industry

Construction project delays emanates from multiplicity of different sources of risk events. This, combined with high uncertainty in cause-effect relationships between the events and their impacts on project completion dates, have created immense difficulties in apportioning project delay responsibilities amongst contracting parties. This challenge is now dealt with by various delay analysis approaches, yet delay claims settlement continues to be a troublesome undertaking. Empirical research on these approaches as to their application in practice is limited, although such studies provide important reference sources to practitioners and researchers. As a contribution to addressing this gap, this paper reports on practitioners’ views on the approaches based on a UK nation-wide questionnaire survey of construction and consulting companies. The key findings of the study include: (1) delay claims are often resolved late and not close in time of occurrence of the delay events, creating more difficulties; (2) simplistic delay analysis approaches are widely used in practice and form the basis of successful claim resolutions, although they have major weaknesses; (3) the sophisticated approaches, although are more robust, are generally not popular in practice. To promote the use of these reliable approaches and help reduce or avoid disputes amongst claims parties, programming and record keeping practices must be improved as they do not facilitate the use of the approaches.
Scalable Recommendation with Social Contextual Information

Exponential growth of information generated by online social networks demands effective and scalable recommender systems to give useful results. Traditional techniques become unqualified because they ignore social relation data; existing social recommendation approaches consider social network structure, but social contextual information has not been fully considered. It is significant and challenging to fuse social contextual factors which are derived from users' motivation of social behaviors into social recommendation. In this paper, we investigate the social recommendation problem on the basis of psychology and sociology studies, which exhibit two important factors: individual preference and interpersonal influence. We first present the particular importance of these two factors in online behavior prediction. Then we propose a novel probabilistic matrix factorization method to fuse them in latent space. We further provide a scalable algorithm which can incrementally process the large scale data. We conduct experiments on both Facebook style bidirectional and Twitter style unidirectional social network data sets. The empirical results and analysis on these two large data sets demonstrate that our method significantly outperforms the existing approaches.approaches.
Protection of leukotriene receptor antagonist against aspirin-induced bronchospasm in asthmatics

Purpose Leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs) are used to treat aspirin-intolerant asthma (AIA); however, the protective effects of long-term LTRA administration against aspirin-induced bronchospasm have not been evaluated. Objectives We investigated the efficacy of a 12-week treatment with a LTRA in protecting against aspirin-induced asthma in AIA patients. Methods Fifty-two adult patients with AIA underwent an aspirin challenge test just before administration of montelukast (10 mg/day) and just after 12 weeks of treatment. The protective effect was assessed as the disappearance of aspirin-induced bronchospasm after 12 weeks of treatment. The results were compared according to the patients' clinical and physiological parameters. Results The decline in FEV1 following aspirin challenge was significantly reduced from 28.6±1.9% to 10.2±1.7% (P=0.0001) after 12 weeks of montelukast treatment. However, 14 subjects (30%) still showed a positive response (>15% decline in FEV1) to aspirin challenge. Grouping the subjects into good and poor responders according to post-treatment responses revealed that the pretreatment aspirin-induced FEV1 decline was significantly greater in the poor responders and that the triggering dose of aspirin and the induction time for a positive response were lower and shorter, respectively, in the poor responders. Histories of aspirin hypersensitivity and sinusitis were more prevalent among the poor responders than among the good responders. Conclusions Twelve weeks of treatment with montelukast protected against aspirin-induced bronchospasm in 70% of the AIA cases. A poor response was associated with more severe aspirin-induced bronchospasms before treatment and a history of aspirin hypersensitivity or sinusitis. Clinical implications A severe response to aspirin challenge may be a predictor of poor responsiveness to leukotriene antagonist treatment.
A direct method for solving an anisotropic mean curvature flow of plane curves with an external force

A new method for solution of the evolution of plane curves satisfying the geometric equation v=β(x,k,ν), where v is the normal velocity, k and ν are the curvature and tangential angle of a plane curve Γ ⊂ ℝ2 at the point x∈Γ, is proposed. We derive a governing system of partial differential equations for the curvature, tangential angle, local length and position vector of an evolving family of plane curves and prove local in time existence of a classical solution. These equations include a non‐trivial tangential velocity functional governing a uniform redistribution of grid points and thus preventing numerically computed solutions from forming various instabilities. We discretize the governing system of equations in order to find a numerical solution for 2D anisotropic interface motions and image segmentation problems. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.