Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Straddling the Post-Structuralist Abyss: Between Transcendence and Immanence?

Against a background of socio-economic change, planning practitioners are struggling to embrace the various processes of transformation of structures and practices in meaningful ways. Theorists, in turn, are struggling to come to terms with these practice transformations. Whilst many theorists would accept the need for dynamic, relational approaches there is strong debate about the meanings and implications of new theory. Tensions may arise from fundamental differences between transcendental and immanent frames: practice and theory seek immanence, yet are caught in remnants of transcendence. I explore the potential of Deleuze and Guattari's concept of 'becoming' as creative experimentation. I conclude that planning may involve a transcendental structure immanent in its practical local expressions; and that theorizing could benefit from ' becomingplanning'.
An Ongoing Role for Structural Sarcomeric Components in Maintaining Drosophila melanogaster Muscle Function and Structure

Animal muscles must maintain their function while bearing substantial mechanical loads. How muscles withstand persistent mechanical strain is presently not well understood. The basic unit of muscle is the sarcomere, which is primarily composed of cytoskeletal proteins. We hypothesized that cytoskeletal protein turnover is required to maintain muscle function. Using the flight muscles of Drosophila melanogaster, we confirmed that the sarcomeric cytoskeleton undergoes turnover throughout adult life. To uncover which cytoskeletal components are required to maintain adult muscle function, we performed an RNAi-mediated knockdown screen targeting the entire fly cytoskeleton and associated proteins. Gene knockdown was restricted to adult flies and muscle function was analyzed with behavioural assays. Here we analyze the results of that screen and characterize the specific muscle maintenance role for several hits. The screen identified 46 genes required for muscle maintenance: 40 of which had no previously known role in this process. Bioinformatic analysis highlighted the structural sarcomeric proteins as a candidate group for further analysis. Detailed confocal and electron microscopic analysis showed that while muscle architecture was maintained after candidate gene knockdown, sarcomere length was disrupted. Specifically, we found that ongoing synthesis and turnover of the key sarcomere structural components Projectin, Myosin and Actin are required to maintain correct sarcomere length and thin filament length. Our results provide in vivo evidence of adult muscle protein turnover and uncover specific functional defects associated with reduced expression of a subset of cytoskeletal proteins in the adult animal.
Quality of care for children in commercial and Medicaid managed care.

CONTEXT Many states have turned to commercial health plans to serve Medicaid beneficiaries and to achieve cost-containment goals. Assumptions that the quality of care provided to Medicaid beneficiaries through these programs is acceptable have not been tested. OBJECTIVE To compare the quality of care provided to children and adolescents in commercial and Medicaid managed care in the United States. DESIGN, SETTING, AND POPULATION Using 1999 data collected through the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set, we examined reported quality-of-care indicators for children and adolescents. Results from 423 commercial and 169 Medicaid plans were compared. Matched pairs analyses were performed using data from each of the 81 companies serving both populations to control for corporate differences. Correlation coefficients and regression procedures were used to examine observed variations in health plan performance. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Quality indicators including prenatal care, childhood immunizations, well-child visits, adolescent immunizations, and myringotomy and tonsillectomy rates. RESULTS Using standard indicators of clinical performance, children and adolescents enrolled in Medicaid received worse care compared with their commercial counterparts. For most of the 81 health plans serving both populations, Medicaid enrollees had statistically significantly (P<.001) lower rates than commercial plans for clinical quality indicators (eg, childhood immunization rates of 69% vs 54%); for clinical access indicators (eg, well-child visits in the first 15 months of life, 53% vs 31%); and for common procedures (eg, myringotomies for children aged 0-4 years, 35 vs 2 per 1000 members). Conversely, some plans demonstrated equal and high-quality care for both populations. Regression models failed to identify consistent plan characteristics that explained the observed differences in quality of care. CONCLUSIONS Most commercial health plans do not deliver high-quality care on a number of performance indicators for children enrolled in Medicaid. Policy makers and the public need plan-specific quality information to inform purchasing decisions.
Some things are better left unsaid II: Topic avoidance in friendships

This study examines the extent to which members of same‐ and cross‐sex friendships avoid topics related to relationship issues, negative life experiences, dating experiences, sexual experiences, and outside friendships. Four reasons for topic avoidance are also explored: self‐protection, relationship protection, partner unresponsiveness, and social appropriateness. Results from 177 undergraduate students, who referenced a friend of the same sex and a friend of the opposite sex, showed that individuals avoided discussing negative life experiences and relationship issues with males more than females and, when with opposite‐sex friends, avoided disclosures related to dating and sexual experiences more than when with same‐sex friends. Additionally, individuals avoided disclosure for a variety of reasons, but seem primarily motivated to avoid topics due to concerns for self‐protection. Results of this investigation shed light on the communicative implications underlying differences between same‐ and cross‐sex .
Fertility Defects in Mice Expressing the L68Q Variant of Human Cystatin C

Background: The L68Q variant of cystatin C is highly amyloidogenic forming aggregates in individuals with HCCAA. Results: Spermatozoa from mice expressing human L68Q cystatin C exhibit fertility defects and increased levels of amyloid. Conclusion: L68Q epididymal fluid containing cystatin C amyloid is harmful for sperm function. Significance: Amyloid in the reproductive tract may contribute to male factor infertility. Hereditary cystatin C amyloid angiopathy is an autosomal dominant disorder in which a variant form of cystatin C (L68Q) readily forms amyloid deposits in cerebral arteries in affected individuals resulting in early death. L68Q protein deposits in human cystatin C amyloid angiopathy patients have also been found in tissues outside of the brain including the testis, suggesting possible effects on fertility. Heterozygous transgenic mice (L68Q) that express the human L68Q variant of cystatin C under the control of the mouse cystatin C promoter were unable to generate offspring, suggesting the presence of L68Q cystatin C amyloid affected sperm function. In vitro studies showed that epididymal spermatozoa from L68Q mice were unable to fertilize oocytes and exhibited poor sperm motility. Furthermore, spermatozoa from L68Q mice exhibited reduced cell viability compared with wild type (WT) spermatozoa and often were detected in large agglutinated clumps. Examination of the epididymal fluid and spermatozoa from L68Q mice showed increased levels and distinct forms of cystatin C amyloid that were not present in WT mice. The addition of epididymal fluid from L68Q mice to WT spermatozoa resulted in a recapitulation of the L68Q phenotype in that WT spermatozoa showed reduced cell viability and motility compared with WT spermatozoa incubated in epididymal fluid from WT mice. L68Q epididymal fluid that was depleted of cystatin C amyloids, however, did not impair the motility of WT spermatozoa. Taken together these studies suggest that amyloids in the epididymal fluid can be cytotoxic to the maturing spermatozoa resulting in male infertility.
Gather-Scatter DRAM: In-DRAM address translation to improve the spatial locality of non-unit strided accesses

Many data structures (e.g., matrices) are typically accessed with multiple access patterns. Depending on the layout of the data structure in physical address space, some access patterns result in non-unit strides. In existing systems, which are optimized to store and access cache lines, non-unit strided accesses exhibit low spatial locality. Therefore, they incur high latency, and waste memory bandwidth and cache space. We propose the Gather-Scatter DRAM (GS-DRAM) to address this problem. We observe that a commodity DRAM module contains many chips. Each chip stores a part of every cache line mapped to the module. Our idea is to enable the memory controller to access multiple values that belong to a strided pattern from different chips using a single read/write command. To realize this idea, GS-DRAM first maps the data of each cache line to different chips such that multiple values of a strided access pattern are mapped to different chips. Second, instead of sending a separate address to each chip, GS-DRAM maps each strided pattern to a small pattern ID that is communicated to the module. Based on the pattern ID, each chip independently computes the address of the value to be accessed. The cache line returned by the module contains different values of the strided pattern gathered from different chips. We show that this approach enables GS-DRAM to achieve near-ideal memory bandwidth and cache utilization for many common access patterns. We design an end-to-end system to exploit GS-DRAM. Our evaluations show that 1) for in-memory databases, GS-DRAM obtains the best of the row store and the column store layouts, in terms of both performance and energy, and 2) for matrix-matrix multiplication, GS-DRAM seamlessly enables SIMD optimizations and outperforms the best tiled layout. Our framework is general, and can benefit many modern data-intensive applications.
Technologizing Discourse to Standardize Projects in Multi-Project Organizations: Hegemony by Consensus?

A project-management model is a powerful, but little researched, discursive tool in the ‘new’ bureaucratization process of multi-project organizations. It is a means of creating hegemony by consensus and can be seen as an example of the process of technologization of discourse. Through this process, discourse technologists redesign organizational discourses and work processes, turning them into representations of consensual praxis. This article traces this redesign process in a major telecom organization and shows how the ‘new’ practices are disseminated within the organization.
Temporal Autocorrelation-Based Beamforming With MEG Neuroimaging Data

Characterizing the brain source activity using magnetoencephalography (MEG) requires solving an ill-posed inverse problem. Most source reconstruction procedures are performed in terms of power comparison. However, in the presence of voxel-specific noises, the direct power analysis can be misleading due to the power distortion as suggested by our multiple trial MEG study on a face-perception experiment. To tackle the issue, we propose a temporal autocorrelation-based method for the above analysis. The new method improves the face-perception analysis and identifies several differences between neuronal responses to face and scrambled-face stimuli. By the simulated and real data analyses, we demonstrate that compared to the existing methods, the new proposal can be more robust to voxel-specific noises without compromising on its accuracy in source localization. We further establish the consistency for estimating the proposed index when the number of sensors and the number of time instants are sufficiently large. In particular, we show that the proposed procedure can make a better focus on true sources than its precedents in terms of peak segregation coefficient. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.
The role of cultural values in understanding the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs in Nigeria

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges female entrepreneurs face in the development of their business in the context of Nigeria. In so doing, it addresses a gap in the literature on the experiences of female entrepreneurs in a non‐Western context and acknowledges the contribution that women make in this area of work.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on survey data from 274 female entrepreneurs currently engaged in their businesses in three states – Lagos (Nigeria's largest city), Ogun and Oyo within the South West of Nigeria.Findings – Results indicate that female entrepreneurs are generally confident and resourceful and that they enjoy the challenge of entrepreneurial activity. As in the West, they experience difficulties relating to family commitments and access to finance – as well as problems gaining acceptance and accessing networks.Originality/value – It is argued that cultural values specific to the situation mean that these challenges, while common to female e.
Interruptions and Blood Transfusion Checks: Lessons from the Simulated Operating Room

Interruptions occur frequently in the operating room with both positive and negative consequences. Interruptions can distract anesthesiologists from safety-critical tasks, such as the pretransfusion blood check. In a simulated operating room, 12 anesthesiologists requested blood as part of a “bleeding patient” scenario. They were distracted while their assistant accepted delivery of the product and began transfusing without performing the standard check. Anesthesiologists who immediately engaged with the interruption failed to notice the omission, whereas those who rejected or deferred the interruption all noted and remedied the omitted check (P < 0.05). We discuss the role of displays and strategies on safety.
Efficient Induction of Primary and Secondary T Cell-Dependent Immune Responses In Vivo in the Absence of Functional IL-2 and IL-15 Receptors1

IL-2 and IL-15 are thought to be important cytokines for T cell-dependent immune responses. Mice deficient in IL-2, IL-2Rα, and IL-2Rβ are each characterized by a rapid lethal autoimmune lymphoproliferative disorder that complicates their use in studies aimed at investigating the role of these cytokines and receptors for immune responses in vivo. We have previously characterized a novel transgenic (Tg) mouse on the IL-2Rβ−/− genetic background (Tg−/− mice) that lacks autoimmune disease but still contains peripheral T cells that are nonresponsive to IL-2 and IL-15. In the present study, these mice were used to investigate the extent by which IL-2 and IL-15 are essential for T cell immunity in vivo. Tg−/− mice generated near normal primary and secondary Ab responses to OVA, readily mounted first and second set allogeneic skin graft rejection responses, and developed primary and recall CD8 T cell responses to vaccinia virus. However, Tg−/− mice generated a slightly lower level of IgG2a Abs to OVA, exhibited a somewhat delayed first set skin graft rejection response with lower allo-specific CTL, and developed a significantly lower number of IFN-γ-producing vaccinia-specific CD8+ T cells. Thus, although T effector function is somewhat impaired, T cell immunity is largely functional in the absence of IL-2- and IL-15-induced signaling through IL-2Rβ.
Formal Verification of the Pentium® 4 Floating-Point Multiplier

We present the formal verification of the floating-point multiplier in the Intel IA-32 Pentium ¯ microprocessor. The verification is based on a combination of theorem-proving and BDD based model-checking tasks performed in a unified hardware verification environment. The tasks are tightly integrated to accomplish complete verification of the multiplier hardware coupled with the rounder logic. The approach does not rely on specialized representations like Binary Moment Diagrams or its variants.
GMPPB‐Associated Dystroglycanopathy: Emerging Common Variants with Phenotype Correlation

Mutations in GDP‐mannose pyrophosphorylase B (GMPPB), a catalyst for the formation of the sugar donor GDP‐mannose, were recently identified as a cause of muscular dystrophy resulting from abnormal glycosylation of α‐dystroglycan. In this series, we report nine unrelated individuals with GMPPB‐associated dystroglycanopathy. The most mildly affected subject has normal strength at 25 years, whereas three severely affected children presented in infancy with intellectual disability and epilepsy. Muscle biopsies of all subjects are dystrophic with abnormal immunostaining for glycosylated α‐dystroglycan. This cohort, together with previously published cases, allows preliminary genotype–phenotype correlations to be made for the emerging GMPPB common variants c.79G>C (p.D27H) and c.860G>A (p.R287Q). We observe that c.79G>C (p.D27H) is associated with a mild limb‐girdle muscular dystrophy phenotype, whereas c.860G>A (p.R287Q) is associated with a relatively severe congenital muscular dystrophy typically involving brain development. Sixty‐six percent of GMPPB families to date have one of these common variants.
Measuring goodness of story narratives: Implications for traumatic brain injury

Background: This study examined the utility of story “goodness”, a measure of organisation and completeness, in quantifying narrative discourse deficits following traumatic brain injury (TBI). In an initial study, the story goodness measure demonstrated sensitivity and reliability in distinguishing individuals who had TBI from those who were non-brain-injured. Aims: The purpose of the current study was to validate previous findings of the story goodness index, specifically in discriminating performance between groups and identifying performance subgroups, in a larger sample of participants with TBI. Methods & Procedures: A total of 46 non-brain-injured adults and 171 adults with TBI participated. Story retellings were analysed for story grammar and story completeness. The two discourse scores were then plotted as coordinates, which allowed for quantification of story goodness. Statistical analyses included a multivariate analysis of variance and calculation of Pearson correlation coefficients for the discourse measures. Outcomes & Results: Results indicated that participants’ scores clustered differentially across quadrants between groups and discriminated groups into four distinct categories of story “goodness”. Conclusions: Findings paralleled those found in the initial study, suggesting that story goodness is a sensitive measure for examining the discourse of individuals with TBI. The story goodness has potential clinical utility and may have implications for investigation of discourse impairments in other clinical populations and treatment of discourse deficits.
Polyphenol Content and Modulatory Activities of Some Tropical Dietary Plant Extracts on the Oxidant Activities of Neutrophils and Myeloperoxidase

Young leaves of Manihot esculenta Crantz (Euphorbiaceae), Abelmoschus esculentus (Malvaceae), Hibiscus acetosella (Malvaceae) and Pteridium aquilinum (Dennstaedtiaceae) are currently consumed as green vegetables by peoples in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, Asia and their migrants living in Western Europe. Sub-Saharan peoples use Manihot, Abelmoschus and Hibiscus also in the folk medicine to alleviate fever and pain, in the treatment of conjunctivitis, rheumatism, hemorrhoid, abscesses, . The present study investigates the effects of aqueous extracts of those plants on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the release of myeloperoxidase (MPO) by equine neutrophils activated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). The ROS production was measured by lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence (CL), and the release of total MPO by an ELISA method. The study also investigates the effect of the extracts on the activity of MPO by studying its nitration activity on tyrosine and by using a new technique called SIEFED (Specific Immunological Extraction Followed by Enzymatic Detection) that allows studying the direct interaction of compounds with the enzyme. In all experiments, the aqueous extracts of the plants developed concentration-dependent inhibitory effects. A moderate heat treatment did not significantly modify the inhibitory capacity of the extracts in comparison to not heated ones. Total polyphenol and flavonoid contents were determined with an HPLC-UV/DAD analysis and a spectroscopic method using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. Some polyphenols with well-known antioxidant activities (caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, hyperoside, rosmarinic acid and rutin) were found in the extracts and may partly explain the inhibitory activities observed. The role of those dietary and medicinal plants in the treatment of ROS-dependent inflammatory diseases could have new considerations for health.
7a Protein of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Inhibits Cellular Protein Synthesis and Activates p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase

ABSTRACT It was recently shown that the 7a protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus induces biochemical changes associated with apoptosis. In this study, the mechanism by which the 7a protein induces apoptosis was examined. The 7a protein was tested for the ability to inhibit cellular gene expression because several proapoptotic viral proteins with this function have previously been identified. 7a protein inhibited expression of luciferase from an mRNA construct that specifically measures translation, whereas inhibitors of transcription and nucleocytoplasmic transport did not. The inhibition of translation and other cellular processes of gene expression have been associated with the induction of a stress response in cells. Western blot analysis using phosphospecific antibodies indicated that 7a protein activated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), but not c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase/stress-activated protein kinase. Taken together, these data indicate that the induction of apoptosis by the 7a protein may be related to its ability to inhibit cellular translation and activate p38 MAPK.
A superpixel MRF approach using high-order likelihood for moving object detection

We present an approach for detecting moving objects from a dynamic video sequence, using a stereo camera system. The detection of moving objects is a challenging problem, especially when backgrounds are also time-varying due to the concurrent changes of moving objects and backgrounds. Most of the previous approaches have been limited to the use of appearance information such as colors and 2D motions. A Markov random field (MRF) approach based on geometric reconstruction is proposed to handle the concurrent motions in segmenting moving objects from dynamic backgrounds robustly. Our approach introduces a high-order likelihood to reduce the influence of mismatched features in the background. Our method also enables the consistent detection of moving objects across frames by enforcing an efficient temporal coherence term. In addition, we incorporate with a superpixel representation to avoid computational complexity. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.