Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detriments of colonialism on indigenous conflict resolution: an analysis of Pakistan and Tanzania

ABSTRACT Since the process of decolonization started after the conclusion of the Second World War, a major victim of this process was indigenous cultures and social structures in most of the former colonies. This paper draws its analysis from postcolonial theory by considering the detrimental effects that colonialism has left on the culture and governance in tribal societies. The paper attempts to contribute to the growing body of knowledge on indigenous/traditional conflict transformation and peace strategies by studying the role of indigenous strategies in resolving conflicts in Pakistan and Tanzania. In Pakistan, the Pashtun Jirga is a council of elders that plays a significant role in mediating and resolving conflicts among Pashtuns, especially tribal Pashtuns. In Tanzania, two cases of extractive resource conflicts in North Mara and Mtwara show how these conflicts have been resolved and what role indigenous strategies played or could have played if they were to be effectively used. In both Pakistan and Tanzania cases, we find that indigenous strategies of peace and conflict transformation are an important and necessary ingredient to conflict resolution. However, despite their significance, indigenous strategies are hardly a priority for respective post-colonial governments and the international community.
The enzymatic synthesis of inositol phosphatide.

Since the isolation of myo-inositol from biological sources over a hundred years ago, little has been reported concerning its metabolism. Experiments in nutrition have implicated inositol variously as a vitamin (1) and as a lipotropic agent (2) ; and more recently inositol has been identified as a soluble factor required for the survival of human cells grown in tissue culture (3). The presence of inositol lipides in mammalian tissue in the form of diphosphoinositide (4) and monophosphoinositide (inositol phosphatide) (5) has been established. Recently, several investigators have confirmed the observation that the exchange of inorganic P32 with the phospholipides of tissue slices and homogenates occurs at a greater rate in the inositol lipide fraction than in the ethanolamine-, choline-, or serine-containing fractions (69). In the present study, the metabolism of inositol was investigated by means of a spectrophotometric method for the determination of inositol and by the use of tritium-labeled inositol. A particulate preparation obtained from lyophilized guinea pig kidney mitochondria which catalyzed the incorporation of inositol into inositol phosphatide in the presence of cytidine nucleotide and Mg++ was examined in detail.
Modelling the Impact of Cell-To-Cell Transmission in Hepatitis B Virus

Cell-free virus is a well-recognized and efficient mechanism for the spread of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in the liver. Cell-to-cell transmission (CCT) can be a more efficient means of virus propagation. Despite experimental evidence implying CCT occurs in HBV, its relative impact is uncertain. We develop a 3-D agent-based model where each hepatocyte changes its viral state according to a dynamical process driven by cell-free virus infection, CCT and intracellular replication. We determine the relative importance of CCT in the development and resolution of acute HBV infection in the presence of cytolytic (CTL) and non-CTL mechanisms. T cell clearance number is defined as the minimum number of infected cells needed to be killed by each T cell at peak infection that results in infection clearance within 12 weeks with hepatocyte turnover (HT, number of equivalent livers) ≤3. We find that CCT has very little impact on the establishment of infection as the mean cccDNA copies/cell remains between 15 to 20 at the peak of the infection regardless of CCT strength. In contrast, CCT inhibit immune-mediated clearance of acute HBV infection as higher CCT strength requires higher T cell clearance number and increases the probability of T cell exhaustion. An effective non-CTL inhibition can counter these negative effects of higher strengths of CCT by supporting rapid, efficient viral clearance and with little liver destruction. This is evident as the T cell clearance number drops by approximately 50% when non-CTL inhibition is increased from 10% to 80%. Higher CCT strength also increases the probability of the incidence of fulminant hepatitis with this phenomenon being unlikely to arise for no CCT. In conclusion, we report the possibility of CCT impacting HBV clearance and its contribution to fulminant hepatitis.
Neuroevolution for reinforcement learning using evolution strategies

We apply the CMA-ES, an evolution strategy which efficiently adapts the covariance matrix of the mutation distribution, to the optimization of the weights of neural networks for solving reinforcement learning problems. It turns out that the topology of the networks considerably influences the time to find a suitable control strategy. Still, our results with fixed network topologies are significantly better than those reported for the best evolutionary method so far, which adapts both the weights and the structure of the networks.
Fano's inequality for random variables

We extend Fano's inequality, which controls the average probability of events in terms of the average of some $f$--divergences, to work with arbitrary events (not necessarily forming a partition) and even with arbitrary $[0,1]$--valued random variables, possibly in continuously infinite number. We provide two applications of these extensions, in which the consideration of random variables is particularly handy: we offer new and elegant proofs for existing lower bounds, on Bayesian posterior concentration (minimax or distribution-dependent) rates and on the regret in non-stochastic sequential learning.
Response of Some Wheat Varieties to Gibberellic Acid under Saline Conditions

M.E. H. Ibrahim, Joint International Research Lab. of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of the Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou Univ., Yangzhou 225009 and Sudan Univ. of Science and Technology College of Agricultural Studies, Dep. of Agronomy, Khartoum 13311 Sudan; X. Zhu, Jiangsu Key Lab. of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Co-Innovation Center for Modern Production Technology of Grain Crops, Yangzhou Univ., Yangzhou 225009, China; G. Zhou and A.M.I. Elsiddig, Joint International Research Lab. of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of the Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou Univ., Yangzhou 225009, China; A.Y. A. Ali, Joint International Research Lab. of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of the Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou Univ., Yangzhou 225009 and Dep. of Agronomy, College of Agricultural and Environment Science, Univ. of Gadarif, Gadarif 449, Sudan; and G.A. Farah, Sudan Univ. of Science and Technology College of Agricultural Studies, Dep. of Agronomy, Khartoum 13311 Sudan.
Organizational Social Capital: Ties Between HRD, Employee Voice, and CEOs

Growing employee voice increases the likelihood that employees will engage in discretionary efforts to share potentially useful information, express opinions, or concerns about work-related issues to their supervisors and other leaders in the organization. We develop a conceptual model and a series of propositions to examine and analyze the underlying mechanisms that enhance employee voice. Specifically, we identify linkages and connections between human resource development (HRD) practices, organizational social capital (OSC), and the role of CEOs as facilitating environmental or situational mechanisms that have implications on voice behavior. HRD can play a key role in helping employees foster social capital, leading to employee voice in the organization. When CEOs extend their existing internal social networks, and engage in conversations with workers, this dialogue serves as a visible artifact and reverberates across the organization. Our propositions move beyond framing employee-related voice outcomes as a result of either HRD practices or CEO influence. Rather, we postulate an outcome of their interdependent interactions. Implications for HRD research and practice are discussed.
AN EXPLORATION OF EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT LEADERSHIP IN COLLEGIATE RECREATION STUDENT EMPLOYEES AND THEIR OWN PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT LEADERSHIP

OF DISSERTATION AN EXPLORATION OF EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT LEADERSHIP IN COLLEGIATE RECREATION STUDENT EMPLOYEES AND THEIR OWN PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT LEADERSHIP Universities are an ideal environment to assist students in the development of their leadership skills in a safe and supportive environment. The development of emotional intelligence (EI) has become an important aspect of student leadership development. The purpose of the study was to examine the emotionally intelligent leadership (EIL) scores of students working in a collegiate recreation setting and to examine their perceptions of their own EI and EIL. An exploratory, sequential, mixed-methods approach was used to explore the EIL scores of students employed in collegiate recreation departments at seven university sites. EIL was the theoretical framework used in this study (Shankman et al., 2015). The findings of this study showed no statistically significant difference in mean scores of EIL between students working in formal and informal leadership positions or between genders. Themes that emerged from the participant’s perceptions of their own EI and EIL were communication, confidence, perceived leadership ability, and teamwork. Understanding how students perceive their own EI and EIL can assist practitioners in the creation and development of intentional training and development programs.
Nanopore Analysis of Wild-Type and Mutant Prion Protein (PrPC): Single Molecule Discrimination and PrPC Kinetics

Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative diseases associated with the conversion of cellular prion protein (PrPC) in the central nervous system into the infectious isoform (PrPSc). The mechanics of conversion are almost entirely unknown, with understanding stymied by the lack of an atomic-level structure for PrPSc. A number of pathogenic PrPC mutants exist that are characterized by an increased propensity for conversion into PrPSc and that differ from wild-type by only a single amino-acid point mutation in their primary structure. These mutations are known to perturb the stability and conformational dynamics of the protein. Understanding of how this occurs may provide insight into the mechanism of PrPC conversion. In this work we sought to explore wild-type and pathogenic mutant prion protein structure and dynamics by analysis of the current fluctuations through an organic α-hemolysin nanometer-scale pore (nanopore) in which a single prion protein has been captured electrophoretically. In doing this, we find that wild-type and D178N mutant PrPC, (a PrPC mutant associated with both Fatal Familial Insomnia and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease), exhibit easily distinguishable current signatures and kinetics inside the pore and we further demonstrate, with the use of Hidden Markov Model signal processing, accurate discrimination between these two proteins at the single molecule level based on the kinetics of a single PrPC capture event. Moreover, we present a four-state model to describe wild-type PrPC kinetics in the pore as a first step in our investigation on characterizing the differences in kinetics and conformational dynamics between wild-type and D178N mutant PrPC. These results demonstrate the potential of nanopore analysis for highly sensitive, real-time protein and small molecule detection based on single molecule kinetics inside a nanopore, and show the utility of this technique as an assay to probe differences in stability between wild-type and mutant prion proteins at the single molecule level.
Pros and cons of a wandering mind: a prospective study

Mind wandering (MW) has recently been associated with both adaptive (e.g., creativity enhancement) and maladaptive (e.g., mood worsening) consequences. This study aimed at investigating whether proneness to MW was prospectively associated with negative health outcomes. At time 0, 21 women, 19 men; mean age = 24.5 (4.9) underwent a 5-min baseline electrocardiogram (ECG), a 20-min laboratory tracking task with thought probes, and personality questionnaires. At time 1 (1 year follow-up), the same participants underwent a 24-h Ecological Momentary Assessment characterized by ambulatory ECG recording and electronic diaries. First, we examined if the likelihood of being a “mind wanderer” was associated with specific personality dispositions. Then, we tested if the occurrence of episodes of MW in the lab would be correlated with frequency of MW in daily life. Finally, multiple regression models were used to test if MW longitudinally acted as a risk factor for health, accounting for the effects of biobehavioral variables. Among dispositional traits, the frequency of MW episodes in daily life was inversely associated with the capacity of being mindful (i.e., aware of the present moment and non-judging). There was a positive correlation between frequency of MW in the lab and in daily life, suggesting that it is a stable disposition of the individual. When differentiated from perseverative cognition (i.e., rumination and worry), MW did not predict the presence of health risk factors 1 year later, however, a higher occurrence of episodes of MW was associated with short-term adverse consequences, such as increased 24-h heart rate (HR) on the same day and difficulty falling asleep the subsequent night. Present findings suggest that MW may be associated with short term “side effects” but argue against a long term dysfunctional view of this cognitive process.
On the Coulomb Branch of a Marginal Deformation of N = 4 SUSY

We determine the exact vacuum structure of a marginal deformation of N = 4 SUSY Yang-Mills with gauge group U(N). The Coulomb branch of the theory consists of several sub-branches which are governed by complex curves of the form Σ n 1 ∪ Σ n 2 ∪ Σ n 3 of genus N = n 1 + n 2 + n 3. Each sub-branch intersects with a family of Higgs and Confining branches permuted by SL(2, Z) transformations. We determine the curve by solving a related matrix model in the planar limit according to the prescription of Dijkgraaf and Vafa, and also by explicit instanton calculations using a form of localization on the instanton moduli space. We find that Σ n coincides with the spectral curve of the n-body Ruijsenaars-Schneider system. Our results imply that the theory on each sub-branch is holomorphically equivalent to certain five-dimensional gauge theory with eight supercharges. This equivalence also implies the existence of novel confining branches in five dimensions.
Consensus problems with directed Markovian communication patterns

This paper is a continuation of our previous work and discusses the consensus problem for a network of dynamic agents with directed information flows and random switching topologies. The switching is determined by a Markov chain, each topology corresponding to a state of the Markov chain. We show that in order to achieve consensus almost surely and from any initial state, each union of graphs from the sets of graphs corresponding to the closed positive recurrent sets of states of the Markov chain must have a spanning tree. The analysis relies on tools from matrix theory, Markovian jump linear systems theory and random process theory. The distinctive feature of this work is addressing the consensus problem with “Markovian switching” topologies.
Financial Liberalization and Financing Constraints: Evidence from Panel Data on Emerging Economies

We use panel data on a large number of firms in 13 developing countries to find out whether financial liberalization relaxes financing constraints of firms. We find that liberalization affects small and large firms differently. Small firms are financially constrained before the start of the liberalization process, but become less so after liberalization. Financing constraints of large firms, however, are low both before and after financial liberalization. The initial difference between large and small firms disappears over time. We also find that financial liberalization reduces financial market imperfections, particularly the informational asymmetries with respect to the financial leverage of firms. We hypothesize that financial liberalization has little effects on the financing constraints of large firms, because these firms had better access to preferential directed credit during the period before financial liberalization. JEL Classification Codes: E22, E44, G31, O16 1 Financial Sector Vice Presidency, World Bank, Washington. The author would like to thank Thorsten Beck, Jerry Caprio, Stijn Claessens, Gaston Gelos, Inessa Love, Pieter van Oijen and Sweder van Wijnbergen for valuable comments, and Ying Lin for providing the data. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and should not be interpreted to reflect those of the World Bank or its affiliated institutions.
Comparative Study of Fatigue Assessment Methods with and without Considering Residual Stress on Resistance Spot-Welded Unequal Sheet Thickness Stainless

This paper compares various fatigue assessment methods with and without considering residual stress on resistance spot-welded unequal sheet thicknesses-austenitic stainless steels between sheet thicknesses of 3.0 and 1.0 mm. A set of fatigue data were obtained from fatigue tests that carried out at a room temperature using a sinusoidal wave input with a constant stress amplitude whereas the stress ratio and frequency used were 0.1 and 8 Hz respectively. The modified Goodman equation was used to calculate the stress amplitude with considering residual stress at the edge of the spot weld nugget. Both based on nominal and net-section stress, consideration of residual stress on fatigue strength shift the S-N curves toward lower stress. The S-N curves shifting based on the net section was higher than that based on the nominal stress.
New Constraints on Data-Closeness and Needle Map Consistency for Shape-from-Shading

This paper makes two contributions to the problem of needle-map recovery using shape-from-shading. First, we provide a geometric update procedure which allows the image irradiance equation to be satisfied as a hard constraint. This not only improves the data closeness of the recovered needle-map, but also removes the necessity for extensive parameter tuning. Second, we exploit the improved ease of control of the new shape-from-shading process to investigate various types of needle-map consistency constraint. The first set of constraints are based on needle-map smoothness. The second avenue of investigation is to use curvature information to impose topographic constraints. Third, we explore ways in which the needle-map is recovered so as to be consistent with the image gradient field. In each case we explore a variety of robust error measures and consistency weighting schemes that can be used to impose the desired constraints on the recovered needle-map. We provide an experimental assessment of the new shape-from-shading framework on both real world images and synthetic images with known ground truth surface normals. The main conclusion drawn from our analysis is that the data-closeness constraint improves the efficiency of shape-from-shading and that both the topographic and gradient consistency constraints improve the fidelity of the recovered needle-map.
Morphogenesis of the Bacillus anthracis Spore

ABSTRACT Bacillus spp. and Clostridium spp. form a specialized cell type, called a spore, during a multistep differentiation process that is initiated in response to starvation. Spores are protected by a morphologically complex protein coat. The Bacillus anthracis coat is of particular interest because the spore is the infective particle of anthrax. We determined the roles of several B. anthracis orthologues of Bacillus subtilis coat protein genes in spore assembly and virulence. One of these, cotE, has a striking function in B. anthracis: it guides the assembly of the exosporium, an outer structure encasing B. anthracis but not B. subtilis spores. However, CotE has only a modest role in coat protein assembly, in contrast to the B. subtilis orthologue. cotE mutant spores are fully virulent in animal models, indicating that the exosporium is dispensable for infection, at least in the context of a cotE mutation. This has implications for both the pathophysiology of the disease and next-generation therapeutics. CotH, which directs the assembly of an important subset of coat proteins in B. subtilis, also directs coat protein deposition in B. anthracis. Additionally, however, in B. anthracis, CotH effects germination; in its absence, more spores germinate than in the wild type. We also found that SpoIVA has a critical role in directing the assembly of the coat and exosporium to an area around the forespore. This function is very similar to that of the B. subtilis orthologue, which directs the assembly of the coat to the forespore. These results show that while B. anthracis and B. subtilis rely on a core of conserved morphogenetic proteins to guide coat formation, these proteins may also be important for species-specific differences in coat morphology. We further hypothesize that variations in conserved morphogenetic coat proteins may play roles in taxonomic variation among species.
How Social Networking Use and Beliefs About Inequality Affect Engagement With Racial Justice Movements

Social media is an increasingly prominent platform for sharing information about current social issues. In the recent case of the fatal shooting of unarmed Black teenager Michael Brown by a White police officer in 2014, social media was a major influence in the mobilization of social movements including Black Lives Matter (BLM). This study explores the relationship between the use of social networking (SN) websites for policing-related content, beliefs about inequality, and engagement in racial justice movements. Students at a large university (N = 539) completed an online survey that measured social attitudes focused on policing, inequality, and social movements. Multiple linear and logistic regression analyses tested the effects of individuals’ awareness of oppression and privilege, and SN site use on both (1) support and (2) participation in racial justice movements. Results found that SN website use for policing information was positively related to both support and participation in protests and BLM. Further, in predicting support for protests, this relationship was stronger for individuals who were higher in awareness of oppression and privilege, compared to those who were lower. This study highlights the importance of understanding how social beliefs interact with SN site use to impact social justice engagement.
Student feedback to improved retention: using a mixed-methods approach to extend specific feedback to a generalisable concept

ABSTRACT Across the Higher Education (HE) sector student feedback is used to feed into university processes and guide decision making. In this study, data gathered allowed the authors to investigate a hitherto neglected, but important, cohort of successful students – those who succeeded when all the odds were stacked against them. The identified group of students had relatively low predictive probabilities of passing their module, and yet despite all the odds passed. These identified students were interviewed by phone which yielded a much richer data set than is often available from student surveys. The advice they considered to be important to future students included specific guidance to get ahead, to plan and to contact their own academic tutor. Based on this advice an opportunity for future students to have a flexible early start on a specific module was created. A 4% increase in the number of registered students who subsequently started the module was maintained through to module completion.