Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Research Paper No . 2008 / 04 Globalization , Literacy Levels , and Economic Development

This paper estimated models for GDP growth rates, poverty levels, and inequality measures for the period 1990–2000 using data on 54 developing countries at five-yearly intervals. Issues of globalization were investigated by analysing the differential effects of the countries’ exports and imports and by postulating trans-logarithmic models that allow for non-linear effects of literacy levels and measures of openness. The main findings were that literacy rates affected growth rates in a quadratic manner and countries with higher literacy were more likely to benefit from globalization. Second, the model for growth rates showed non-linear and differential effects of the export/GDP and import/GDP ratios. Third, the models indicated that population health indicators such as life expectancy were important predictors of GDP growth rates. Fourth, models for poverty measures showed that poverty was not directly affected by globalization indicators. Finally, the model for Gini coefficients indicated significant effects of ‘medium’ and ‘high’ skilled labour work force, with higher proportions of high-skilled labour implying greater inequality.
Polarization of migrating cortical neurons by Rap1 and N-cadherin

Neuronal migration is essential for the development of the cerebral cortex. Mutations leading to defective migration are associated with numerous brain pathologies. An important challenge in the field is to understand the intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms that regulate neuronal migration during normal development and in disease. Many small GTPases are expressed in the central nervous system during embryonic development. Recent findings have shown that Rap1 and its downstream partners Ral, Rac and Cdc42 are involved in the maintenance of N-Cadherin at the plasma membrane which is necessary for the correct polarization of migrating neurons. The activation of Rap1 is triggered by Reelin, an extracellular protein known for its role in the organization of the cortex into layers of neurons. In the absence of Reelin, neurons exhibit a broader and irregular pattern of positioning. The prevailing model suggests that Reelin signals to neurons during the last step of their migration, a notion that is inconsistent with new data describing an effect of Reelin on early steps of migration. In regard to these recent findings I suggest a revised model, which I call the “polarity model,” that further refines our understanding of the developmental function played by Reelin and its downstream small GTPases.
Uptake and metabolism of monohydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acids by macrophages

Within 5 min, resting macrophages metabolize microM quantities of exogenous arachidonic acid (20:4) to cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase products. Mono-HETEs represent a major class of metabolites recovered from the medium. However, the quantity of mono-Hetes progressively decreases over a 60-min incubation period, with a concomitant increase in more polar lipoxygenase products, suggesting additional metabolic fates for these hydroxy acids. This was directly confirmed by exposing resident macrophage cultures to radiolabeled 15-, 12-, and 5-HETEs (1 microM). 12-30% of the recovered HETEs were cell-associated and predominantly esterified into phospholipid. High pressure liquid chromatography analyses of medium extracts indicated that 50% of each HETE was also converted to 10 or more metabolites over a 60-min time- course, a rate slower than for 20:4. The major metabolite generated from each mono-HETE had the elution characteristics of a di-HETE. The 5- HETE product has a triene spectrum similar to that of 5(S), 12(S)-di- HETE, whereas the 15- and 12-HETE products exhibited single ultraviolet absorption maxima, indicating a metabolic pathway for 5-HETE distinct from the other mono-HETEs. None of the stable cyclooxygenase products of 20:4 (6-keto PGF1 alpha, PGF2 alpha, PGE2, TXB2) nor polar metabolites of mono-HETEs are either incorporated or metabolized. The results indicate that macrophages have the capacity to specifically metabolize 20:4 and mono-HETEs to polar oxygenated products in the absence of a discernible trigger.
Energetic limitations on suction feeding performance in centrarchid fishes

SUMMARY Energetic analysis of ecologically relevant behaviors can be useful because animals are energetically limited by available muscle mass. In this study we hypothesized that two major determinants of suction feeding performance, the magnitudes of buccal volumetric expansion and subambient buccal pressure, would be correlated with, and limited by, available muscle mass. At least four individuals of three centrarchid species were studied: largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus). Buccal pressure was measured directly via cannulation of the buccal cavity with a catheter-tipped pressure transducer. Buccal expansion was estimated from lateral high-speed video (500 or 1000 Hz) sequences and published data on internal kinematics of largemouth bass. These estimates were calibrated from silicone casts made of the buccal cavity post-mortem. Estimated work and power were found to be significantly correlated with muscle mass over all individuals. The slopes of these relationships, estimates of mass-specific muscle work and power, were found to be 11±2 J kg–1 and 300±75 W kg–1, respectively. These estimates are consistent with observations made of in vivo and in vitro muscle use and with digital particle image velocimetry measurements of water flow in feeding centrarchids. A direct trade-off between mean pressure and change in volume was observed, when the latter was normalized to muscle mass. We conclude that available muscle mass may be a useful metric of suction feeding performance, and that the ratio of muscle mass to buccal volume may be a useful predictor of subambient buccal pressure magnitude.
Grass VS. Legume Forages For Dairy Cattle

Alfalfa is the primary forage fed to lactating dairy cows; however, there is renewed interest in utilizing grass forages in lactating dairy cow diets particularly because of farm nutrient management issues. Yield and perceived quality is generally lower for grass species compared to legumes while other agronomic factors such as longer stand life, requirement for nitrogen fertilizer, and more tolerance of manure spreading, which allows for greater and more frequent manure application than on alfalfa, may make grasses more desirable. Grasses may also complement diets with high levels of co-products from the ethanol and food industries better than legumes because grasses are generally moderate to low in crude protein (CP) compared to alfalfa and most co-products contain a significant amount of CP. The purpose of this paper is to review some results and limitations of previous lactation studies that have compared the feeding value of grass and legume forages, and provide information on nutritional and cell wall differences between grasses and legumes in order to better understand the utilization of these forages by dairy cows.
Distinctive polymorphism at the HLA-C locus: implications for the expression of HLA-C

The HLA-C locus remains an enigma. The serological polymorphism is poorly defined, HLA-C molecules are expressed at the cell surface at about 10% the levels of HLA-A and -B, and their importance for antigen presentation to either CD8-bearing T cells or natural killer cells is unclear. Our understanding of HLA-C polymorphism has also lagged behind that of HLA-A and -B. We have applied the polymerase chain reaction to the characterization of cDNA encoding HLA-C antigens. Combining the recent results with previously characterized HLA-C alleles gives a data base of 26 sequences, which was used to analyze the nature of HLA-C polymorphism and compare it to the variation seen in HLA-A and -B. The sequences form 10 families of alleles that correlate well with the patterns of serological crossreactivity, including the C blanks, and all major HLA-C allelic families appear to have been sampled. The families further divide into two groups of HLA-C alleles defined on the basis of linked substitutions in the 3' exons. In comparison with HLA-A and -B, HLA-C alleles are more closely related to each other, there being less variation in residues of the antigen recognition site and more variation at other positions. In particular, the helix of the alpha 1 domain of HLA-C molecules is unusually conserved. Despite the reduced diversity in the antigen recognition site, it is evident that HLA-C genes have been the target of past selection for polymorphism. Within the antigen recognition site, it is the alpha 1 domain that is most diagnostic of HLA-C, whereas the alpha 2 domain is similar to that of HLA-B, the locus to which HLA-C is most closely related. In particular, conserved motifs in the alpha 1 helix and the conserved glycine at the base of the B pocket (position 45) provide a combination of features that is uniquely found in HLA-C molecules. We hypothesize that these features restrict the peptides bound by HLA-C molecules and in this manner reduce the efficiency of HLA-C assembly and expression at the cell surface. The overall picture HLA-C polymorphism obtained from this sampling of HLA-C alleles is unlikely to change as further alleles are characterized.
Paradigm of Tunable Clustering Using Binarization of Consensus Partition Matrices (Bi-CoPaM) for Gene Discovery

Clustering analysis has a growing role in the study of co-expressed genes for gene discovery. Conventional binary and fuzzy clustering do not embrace the biological reality that some genes may be irrelevant for a problem and not be assigned to a cluster, while other genes may participate in several biological functions and should simultaneously belong to multiple clusters. Also, these algorithms cannot generate tight clusters that focus on their cores or wide clusters that overlap and contain all possibly relevant genes. In this paper, a new clustering paradigm is proposed. In this paradigm, all three eventualities of a gene being exclusively assigned to a single cluster, being assigned to multiple clusters, and being not assigned to any cluster are possible. These possibilities are realised through the primary novelty of the introduction of tunable binarization techniques. Results from multiple clustering experiments are aggregated to generate one fuzzy consensus partition matrix (CoPaM), which is then binarized to obtain the final binary partitions. This is referred to as Binarization of Consensus Partition Matrices (Bi-CoPaM). The method has been tested with a set of synthetic datasets and a set of five real yeast cell-cycle datasets. The results demonstrate its validity in generating relevant tight, wide, and complementary clusters that can meet requirements of different gene discovery studies.
Meta‐analysis of family‐based selective prevention programs for drug consumption in adolescence

Background: Substance consumption (SC) begins in adolescence and has been linked to protection factors such as family relationships (FR) and positive parenting (PP). There are few studies concerning the effectiveness of prevention programs based on the family, even though assessing interventions is one of the objectives of preventive science. The aim of this study was to analyze the evidence on family‐based selective prevention programs in relation to drug consumption in adolescents. Methodology: A meta‐analysis of 9 studies with 102 measures grouped in three dimensions, FR, PP and SC, ranging between 2001 and 2015, was conducted. Results: Effect sizes (ES) were found to be 0.82 for FR, 0.71 for PP, 0.77 for the combination of both and 0.21 for SC. The Q and I2 indexes expressed high heterogeneity. Conclusions: Despite obtaining high ES consistent with previous studies, the great heterogeneity found did not allow us to draw clear conclusions regarding the primary studies. It is recommended that methodological improvements in assessment and reporting processes be carried out for future comparisons. Resumen Meta‐análisis sobre programas de prevención selectiva del consumo de drogas en adolescentes basados en la familia. Antecedentes: el consumo de sustancias (CS) comienza en la adolescencia y se ha relacionado con factores de protección como las relaciones familiares (RF) o la parentalidad positiva (PP). Existen pocas evaluaciones acerca de la eficacia de los programas de prevención basados en la familia. Evaluar las intervenciones es uno de los objetivos que persigue la ciencia preventiva. El objetivo del estudio es analizar las evidencias sobre los programas de prevención selectiva basados en la familia en relación al consumo de drogas en adolescentes. Metodología: se ha llevado a cabo un meta‐análisis de 9 estudios con 102 medidas agrupadas en tres dimensiones, RF, PP y CS, comprendidos entre el 2001 y el 2015. Resultados: los tamaños del efecto (TE) encontrados para RF fue de 0.82, para PP de 0.71, para la combinación de ambas 0.77, y para CS 0.21. Los índices Q e I2 expresaron alta heterogeneidad. Conclusiones: a pesar de obtener TE altos congruentes con los estudios anteriores, la alta heterogeneidad no permite sacar conclusiones claras acerca de los estudios primarios. Se recomienda realizar mejoras metodológicas en los procesos de evaluación y lo reporten para las futuras comparaciones.
Gender and the Willingness to Compete Against Own Past Performance

We examine whether men and women differ in their willingness to select into competition against their past self. Laboratory participants complete a task and choose between receiving a regular piece rate, and a larger piece rate conditional on improving their past performance. We find with two different analytical strategies that once self-confidence and risk aversion are accounted for, men and women are equally selfcompetitive. This is true both for a stereotypically male and a stereotypically female task. We find that participants are equally willing to self-compete regardless of ability, and that confidence and self-competitiveness are not affected by gender self-stereotyping. The results provide insight into the feasibility and potential of using self-improvement contracts as gender-neutral incentive mechanisms. JEL codes: C91, J16, J31, D02
Les parents et leur enfant à risque de trouble du spectre de l’autisme bénéficient d’un programme d’accompagnement parental

Background: Now that early identification of toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is possible, efforts are being made to develop interventions for children under three years of age. Most studies on early intervention have focused on intensive and individual interventions. However, parent training interventions that help parents interact and communicate with their toddlers with ASD might be a good alternative to promote the development of their child’s socio-communicative skills. Objective: This review aims to systematically examine 1) the use of parent training interventions for children with ASD under three years of age, and 2) their effects on children’s development, parents’ well-being and parent-child interactions. Methods: Systematic searches were conducted to retrieve studies in which at least one parent was trained to implement ASD-specific techniques with their toddlers (0-36 months old) with a diagnosis of or suspected ASD. Results: Fifteen studies, involving 484 children (mean age: 23.26 months), were included in this review. Only two of them met criteria for conclusive evidence. Results show that parents were able to implement newly learned strategies and were generally very satisfied with parent training programs. However, findings pertaining to the children’s communication and socioemotional skills, parent-child interactions, and parental well-being were inconclusive.
Thinking Fast, Thinking Badly

We test for the construct validity of the cognitive reflection test (CRT) by eliciting response times. We find that incorrect answers to the CRT are quicker than correct answers. At the individual level, we classify subjects into impulsive and reflective, depending on whether they choose the incorrect intuitive answer or the correct answer the majority of the time. We show that impulsive subjects complete the test quicker than reflective subjects.
Other-regarding preferences in a non-human primate: Common marmosets provision food altruistically

Human cooperation is unparalleled in the animal world and rests on an altruistic concern for the welfare of genetically unrelated strangers. The evolutionary roots of human altruism, however, remain poorly understood. Recent evidence suggests a discontinuity between humans and other primates because individual chimpanzees do not spontaneously provide food to other group members, indicating a lack of concern for their welfare. Here, we demonstrate that common marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus) do spontaneously provide food to nonreciprocating and genetically unrelated individuals, indicating that other-regarding preferences are not unique to humans and that their evolution did not require advanced cognitive abilities such as theory of mind. Because humans and marmosets are cooperative breeders and the only two primate taxa in which such unsolicited prosociality has been found, we conclude that these prosocial predispositions may emanate from cooperative breeding.
The substrate of increased cortical FA in MS: A 7T post-mortem MRI and histopathology study

Background: Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), it was previously found that demyelinated gray matter (GM) lesions have increased fractional anisotropy (FA) when compared to normal-appearing gray matter (NAGM) in multiple sclerosis (MS). The biological substrate underlying this FA change is so far unclear; both neurodegenerative changes and microglial activation have been proposed as causal contributors. Objective: To test the proposed hypothesis that microglia activation is responsible for increased FA in cortical GM lesions. Methods: We investigated post-mortem cortical DTI changes in hemispheric, coronally cut sections and investigated the underlying histopathology using immunohistochemistry. Results: Overall, there were few activated microglia/macrophages, and no difference between GM lesions and NAGM was observed. However, cell density was increased in GM lesions compared to NAGM (309.67 ± standard deviation (SD) 124.44 vs 249.95 ± SD 56.75, p = 0.002). Conclusion: FA increase was not due to lesional and non-lesional differences in microglia activation and/or proliferation. We found an increase in general cellular density without a notable difference in cellular size, that is, tissue compaction, as a possible alternative explanation.
Stable recovery of sparse overcomplete representations in the presence of noise

Overcomplete representations are attracting interest in signal processing theory, particularly due to their potential to generate sparse representations of signals. However, in general, the problem of finding sparse representations must be unstable in the presence of noise. This paper establishes the possibility of stable recovery under a combination of sufficient sparsity and favorable structure of the overcomplete system. Considering an ideal underlying signal that has a sufficiently sparse representation, it is assumed that only a noisy version of it can be observed. Assuming further that the overcomplete system is incoherent, it is shown that the optimally sparse approximation to the noisy data differs from the optimally sparse decomposition of the ideal noiseless signal by at most a constant multiple of the noise level. As this optimal-sparsity method requires heavy (combinatorial) computational effort, approximation algorithms are considered. It is shown that similar stability is also available using the basis and the matching pursuit algorithms. Furthermore, it is shown that these methods result in sparse approximation of the noisy data that contains only terms also appearing in the unique sparsest representation of the ideal noiseless sparse signal.
On the design and implementation of a wire-speed pending interest table

Information-Centric Networking (ICN) is a novel networking paradigm that aims at making network routers aware of the data they transfer. This new paradigm requires changes in the routers in order to support networking operations on content names at wire speed. NDN, one of the most popular ICN proposal, also suggests that routers should keep track of what content is requested and from which line-card's interface, in a data structure called Pending Interest Table (PIT). In this work, we set out to understand how to design a PIT that can support wire-speed. We survey the existing literature and propose few new designs; then, we evaluate numerically the design spectrum for the PIT. Finally, we implement the most promising design on a network processor and evaluate its performance. Our preliminary results are encouraging: we successfully handle a PIT with about 1 Million entries with a wire-speed of 10 Gbps.
A dual approach to solve fuzzy quadratic programming problems

Although quadratic programming can be defined as a specific class of non-linear programming, it can also be used to generalize linear programming. Therefore, one can find many applications in quadratic in real world problems. Inaccuracies are also found in a natural way in real life situations that require realistic solutions. Fuzzy logic has to deal with the uncertainties inherent in this situation. The initiative to shape the inaccuracies in real life optimization problems is applied in an increasing variety of practical fields. Knowing the importance of this problem, the purpose of this work is to present a new dual approach in fuzzy environment. It solves quadratic programming problems with uncertain order relation in the set of constraints. The approach proposal is implemented in two theoretical numerical examples, which show their efficiency.
Diets higher in protein predict lower high blood pressure risk in Framingham Offspring Study adults.

BACKGROUND Short-term clinical trials suggest that dietary protein lowers blood pressure (BP); however, long-term effects of total, animal, and plant proteins are less clear. Our goal was to evaluate effects of these dietary proteins on mean systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) and incident high BP (HBP) risk among middle-aged adults in the Framingham Offspring Study. METHODS Men and women (aged 30-54 years) without prevalent HBP, cardiovascular disease, or diabetes with 3-day dietary records from exams 3 or 5 (n = 1,361) were included and followed for a mean of 11.3 years for development of HBP. Protein intakes adjusted for body size were derived using the residual method. Analysis of covariance and Cox proportional hazard's models were used to adjust for age, sex, education, height, activity, smoking, fat calories, diet quality, and body mass index. RESULTS Higher protein intakes were associated with lower mean SBP and DBP. Both animal and plant proteins lowered BP and led to statistically significant reductions in HBP risk (hazard ratios of 0.68 and 0.51, respectively). Participants in the highest tertile of total protein intake had 40% less risk (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.45-0.78) of developing HBP. Beneficial effects of protein were apparent for men and women and for normal-weight and overweight individuals. Higher protein diets also characterized by higher fiber intakes led to a 59% reduction (95% CI, 0.37-0.66) in HBP risk. CONCLUSIONS Adults consuming more dietary protein from either plant or animal sources had lower long-term risks of HBP.