Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Frequencies of spontaneous breast development and spontaneous menarche in Turner syndrome in Japan

Abstract. The Growject® database on human GH treatment in Turner syndrome was analyzed in the Turner Syndrome Research Collaboration, and the relationships of the frequencies of spontaneous breast development and spontaneous menarche with karyotype and GH treatment were investigated. One hundred and three cases started GH treatment with 0.5 IU/kg/ week (0.5 IU group), and their dose was increased to 0.35 mg/kg/wk midway through the treatment course. Another 109 cases started GH at a dose of 0.35 mg/kg/wk (0.35 mg group). Spontaneous breast development was observed in 77 (36.3%) of the 212 patients, and spontaneous menarche occurred in 31 patients (14.6%). The frequency of spontaneous breast development was significantly lower in patients with the 45,X karyotype and significantly higher in patients with a structural abnormality of the second X chromosome. The frequency of spontaneous menarche was significantly higher in patients with mosaicism characterized by X monosomy and a cellular line with no structural abnormality of the X chromosome. No significant differences in frequencies of spontaneous breast development and spontaneous menarche were observed between the two dose groups, indicating that GH treatment does not increase the frequency of spontaneous puberty.
A matrix-theoretic approach for analyzing quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check codes

A matrix-theoretic approach for studying quasi-cyclic codes based on matrix transformations via Fourier transforms and row and column permutations is developed. These transformations put a parity-check matrix in the form of an array of circulant matrices into a diagonal array of matrices of the same size over an extension field. The approach is amicable to the analysis and construction of quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check codes since it takes into account the specific parity-check matrix used for decoding with iterative message-passing algorithms. Based on this approach, the dimension of the codes and parity-check matrices for the dual codes can be determined. Several algebraic and geometric constructions of quasi-cyclic codes are presented as applications along with simulation results showing their performance over additive white Gaussian noise channels decoded with iterative message-passing algorithms.
Comparative Sequence Analysis of the Sorghum RphRegion and the Maize Rp1 Resistance Gene Complex

A 268-kb chromosomal segment containing sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) genes that are orthologous to the maize (Zea mays) Rp1 disease resistance (R) gene complex was sequenced. A region of approximately 27 kb in sorghum was found to contain five Rp1 homologs, but most have structures indicating that they are not functional. In contrast, maize inbred B73 has 15 Rp1 homologs in two nearby clusters of 250 and 300 kb. As at maize Rp1, the cluster of R gene homologs is interrupted by the presence of several genes that appear to have no resistance role, but these genes were different from the ones found within the maize Rp1complex. More than 200 kb of DNA downstream from the sorghumRp1-orthologous R gene cluster was sequenced and found to contain many duplicated and/or truncated genes. None of the duplications currently exist as simple tandem events, suggesting that numerous rearrangements were required to generate the current genomic structure. Four truncated genes were observed, including one gene that appears to have both 5′ and 3′ deletions. The maize Rp1region is also unusually enriched in truncated genes. Hence, the orthologous maize and sorghum regions share numerous structural features, but all involve events that occurred independently in each species. The data suggest that complex R gene clusters are unusually prone to frequent internal and adjacent chromosomal rearrangements of several types.
Should the UK Join EMU

Introduction The European Monetary Union (EMU) is up and running. The choice the UK faces is whether to join and, if so, when. Public opinion, business opinion and professional economists are divided on this issue, as are the main political parties. It is clear that the decision is a political one and that political arguments are critically important in this debate. Monetary unions are usually, after all, preceded or accompanied, by political union. Nevertheless, monetary union is an economic issue and economic analysis is vital. In this paper we attempt to set out such an analysis. The next section begins with some factual background; what would have to be done if the decision were taken that the UK should join; what the constitutional situation is; what the state of public and business opinion is; what the government’s “five tests” are; and so on. Economic analysis offers “optimal currency area” (OCA) theory as a framework for the discussion of the pros and cons of monetary union. So, in the next section we go on to discuss what optimal currency theory suggests. Finding, as we do, that the verdict to be obtained from OCA theory is somewhat lukewarm, we proceed to probe its possible weaknesses. This helps to reduce the negative quality of traditional analysis – but without, in our view, transforming the picture completely. So we seem to be left with a balance sheet of economic costs and benefits that is more or less neutral. But of course it is one thing to evaluate the proposition for EMU, so to speak in the abstract, and another to evaluate the case for joining (or not) an already existing organization. It is the latter that is now the relevant question. So, to complete the analysis it is necessary to investigate the pros and cons of a decision to stay out of EMU – what we can term ‘the Canada solution’. We do not find such a solution to be in any way an infeasible nor clearly undesirable solution on economic grounds – as the title we have given it of course implies. Yet there seem to be some risks in such a solution that help tip the balance of advantage a little further towards joining. Something depends on whether non-participation in EMU places the UK’s participation in the Single Market at risk.
Acute Effect of Air Pollution on Respiratory Complaints, Exhaled NO and Biomarkers in Nasal Lavages of Allergic Children during the Pollen Season

During 2 months of the pollen season, the acute and putative adjuvant effect of traffic-related air pollution on respiratory health was investigated in children sensitised to grass pollen or house dust mite (HDM). Respiratory complaints were objectified via measurement of exhaled NO and inflammatory mediators in nasal lavage (NAL). During the study children, skin prick negative (n = 31) or positive to grass pollen (n = 22), HDM (n = 34) or grass pollen + HDM (n = 32), kept a daily diary on respiratory symptoms, and NAL and exhaled air was sampled twice a week. The level of air pollutants and pollen was monitored continuously. Like children sensitised to HDM, those sensitised to pollen reported respiratory complaints (shortness of breath, itchy eyes or blocked nose) more frequently than non-sensitised children during (but not before) the pollen season; the respiratory complaints of sensitised children were independent of the pollen level. In addition, exposure to increased levels of PM10 induces ‘shortness of breath’ in pollen- and HDM-sensitised children, whereas ozone induces a blocked nose in HDM-sensitised children. Combined exposure to PM10 + pollen and O3 + pollen induces a blocked nose in both HDM-sensitised children and children sensitised to pollen + HDM. Significant positive associations were found between eNO and the levels of NO2, CO, PM2.5 and pollen in both sensitised and non-sensitised children. At the start of the pollen season, the NAL concentration of eosinophils and ECP in pollen-sensitised children was increased compared to winter, but their levels were not further affected by increased exposure to pollen or air pollution. In conclusion, during the pollen season, sensitised children continuously report a high prevalence of respiratory complaints which coincides with increased levels of upper and lower airway inflammatory markers. No additional pro-inflammatory effect of air pollution was observed, which indicates that air pollution does not facilitate allergen-induced inflammatory responses.
Deficiencies of FENE dumbbell models in describing the rapid stretching of dilute polymer solutions

A wide variety of bead-spring kinetic theory models have been proposed to explain the stress growth and hysteretic behavior of dilute polymer solutions in uniaxial extension. We analyze the Kramers chain, a fine-scale model for polymer dynamics, in order to assess the validity of the coarser-grained bead-spring models in these deformations. Whereas the spring force is a simple function of the dumbbell length for the FENE spring, we find that the relationship between the ensemble-averaged end-to-end force and the extension for a Kramers chain depends on the kinematic history to which it has been subjected. In a quiescent fluid, the Kramers chain force–extension relationship is identical to the FENE force law. However, during start up of elongational flow, the ensemble-averaged end-to-end force for a given (end-to-end) length of the molecule increases with strain until steady state is reached. If the extensional flow is suddenly stopped, the Kramers chain force–extension relationship relaxes back to the FEN.
Dancing with the D-man: Exploring reflexive practices of relational leadership in ballet and ice hockey

This paper explores relational leadership as a reflexive activity that comprises the subtle interplay between the verbal and bodily acts of people at work. Although the existing literature on collective leadership acknowledges various qualities of relational leadership, the latter’s deeply reflexive nature has remained underexplored. By drawing on ethnographic research material from the two controversial; yet, surprisingly similar contexts of ballet and ice hockey, we set out to explore the fine-grained dynamics of the reflexive practices of relational leadership in greater detail. Based on our findings, we argue that relational leadership builds on a bundle of verbal and embodied reflexive practices, entwined with offstage and onstage power dynamics in the workplace. Consequently, our study calls for a more nuanced and bodily appreciative understanding of relational leadership in organisation studies in general.
Exploring the Role of Dynamic Capabilities of Information System Development Project Teams

The increasingly dynamic external environment serves as one risk factor which undermines information system development (ISD) project performance. This highlights the importance of ISD teams having certain capabilities to respond to the external variations. In this study, we proposed that ISD teams can better react to external changes and achieve goals if they have sufficient dynamic capabilities: a combination of market/environment orientation, absorptive capacity, coordination capability and collective mind. We also proposed that a team has stronger dynamic capabilities when team members possess complementary expertise and know the expertise and tasks of others. In addition, after examining the moderating effect of knowing the expertise and tasks of others on the relationship between complementary expertise and team dynamic capabilities, we found that complementary expertise can substitute for knowing the location of expertise and complements knowing the tasks of others. Based on the results, implications for academia and practitioners are also provided.
Bile Duct Ligation in Mice: Induction of Inflammatory Liver Injury and Fibrosis by Obstructive Cholestasis

In most vertebrates, the liver produces bile that is necessary to emulsify absorbed fats and enable the digestion of lipids in the small intestine as well as to excrete bilirubin and other metabolic products. In the liver, the experimental obstruction of the extrahepatic biliary system initiates a complex cascade of pathological events that leads to cholestasis and inflammation resulting in a strong fibrotic reaction originating from the periportal fields. Therefore, surgical ligation of the common bile duct has become the most commonly used model to induce obstructive cholestatic injury in rodents and to study the molecular and cellular events that underlie these pathophysiological mechanisms induced by inappropriate bile flow. In recent years, different surgical techniques have been described that either allow reconnection or reanastomosis after bile duct ligation (BDL), e.g., partial BDL, or other microsurgical methods for specific research questions. However, the most frequently used model is the complete obstruction of the common bile duct that induces a strong fibrotic response after 21 to 28 days. The mortality rate can be high due to infectious complications or technical inaccuracies. Here we provide a detailed surgical procedure for the BDL model in mice that induce a highly reproducible fibrotic response in accordance to the 3R rule for animal welfare postulated by Russel and Burch in 1959.
Innovation and employment growth in industrial clusters: evidence from aeronautical firms in Germany

This article investigates the impact of various agglomeration forces on employment and innovation for a sample of aeronautical cluster firms in Northern Germany and a control group of geographically dispersed aeronautical firms in other German regions. The findings suggest that employment growth is positively affected by labor market pooling but this effect is not cluster‐specific. The firms' probability of innovating is positively influenced by knowledge flows from proximate scientific institutions and public information sources as well as demanding local customers. However, only the effect of demanding customers is cluster‐specific.
Stationary Equilibria in Stochastic Games: Structure, Selection and Computation

This paper is the first to introduce an algorithm to compute stationary equilibria in stochastic games, and shows convergence of the algorithm for almost all such games. Moreover, since in general the number of stationary equilibria is overwhelming, we pay attention to the issue of equilibrium selection. We do this by extending the linear tracing procedure to the class of stochastic games, called the stochastic tracing procedure. From a computational point of view, the class of stochastic games possesses substantial difficulties compared to normal form games. Apart from technical difficulties, there are also conceptual difficulties, for instance the question how to extend the linear tracing procedure to the environment of stochastic games.We prove that there is a generic subclass of the class of stochastic games for which the stochastic tracing procedure is a compact one-dimensionalpiecewise differentiable manifold with boundary. Furthermore, we prove that the stochastic tracing procedure generates a unique path leading from any exogenously specified prior belief, to a stationary equilibrium. A well-chosen transformation of variables is used to formulate an everywhere differentiable homotopy function, whose zeros describe the (unique) path generated by the stochastic tracing procedure. Because of differentiability we are able to follow this path using standard path-following techniques. This yields a globally convergent algorithm that is easily and robustly implemented on a computer using existing software routines. As a by-product of our results, we extend a recent result on the generic finiteness of stationary equilibria in stochastic games to oddness of equilibria.
The Evolution of

The ostensible purpose of Gluck’s article was to throw light on the then-popular but ill-defined term “strategic management,” using data from a recent McKinsey study of formal strategic planning in corporations. The authors concluded that such planning routinely evolves through four distinct phases of development, rising in sophistication from simple year-to-year budgeting to strategic management, in which strategic planning and everyday management are inextricably intertwined.
Molecular Diversity of Methanogens in Feedlot Cattle from Ontario and Prince Edward Island, Canada

ABSTRACT The molecular diversity of rumen methanogens in feedlot cattle and the composition of the methanogen populations in these animals from two geographic locations were investigated using 16S rRNA gene libraries prepared from pooled PCR products from 10 animals in Ontario (127 clones) and 10 animals from Prince Edward Island (114 clones). A total of 241 clones were examined, with Methanobrevibacter ruminantium accounting for more than one-third (85 clones) of the clones identified. From these 241 clones, 23 different 16S rRNA phylotypes were identified. Feedlot cattle from Ontario, which were fed a corn-based diet, revealed 11 phylotypes (38 clones) not found in feedlot cattle from Prince Edward Island, whereas the Prince Edward Island cattle, which were fed potato by-products as a finishing diet, had 7 phylotypes (42 clones) not found in cattle from Ontario. Five sequences, representing the remaining 161 clones (67% of the clones), were common in both herds. Of the 23 different sequences, 10 sequences (136 clones) were 89.8 to 100% similar to those from cultivated methanogens belonging to the orders Methanobacteriales, Methanomicrobiales, and Methanosarcinales, and the remaining 13 sequences (105 clones) were 74.1 to 75.8% similar to those from Thermoplasma volcanium and Thermoplasma acidophilum. Overall, nine possible new species were identified from the two clone libraries, including two new species belonging to the order Methanobacteriales and a new genus/species within the order Methanosarcinales. From the present survey, it is difficult to conclude whether the geographical isolation between these two herds or differences between the two finishing diets directly influenced community structure in the rumen. Further studies are warranted to properly assess the differences between these two finishing diets.
Effects of intraoperative hypothermia on neuropsychological outcomes after intracranial aneurysm surgery

Subarachnoid hemorrhage and surgical obliteration of ruptured intracranial aneurysms are frequently associated with neurological and neuropsychological abnormalities. We reported that intraoperative cooling did not improve neurological outcome in good‐grade surgical subarachnoid hemorrhage patients, as assessed by the Glasgow Outcome Scale score or other neurological and functional measures (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, Rankin Disability Scale, Barthel Activities of Daily Living). We now report the results of neuropsychological testing in these patients.
RF-based Device-Free Localization and Tracking for Ambient Assisted Living

Radio frequency (RF) sensor networks are wireless sensor networks (WSNs) which use only the received signal strength (RSS) to perform tasks such as device-free localization (DFL) and tracking of individuals. In these systems, people to be located do not participate in the localization effort by carrying any radio device or sensor. Instead, a static deployed wireless network measures RSS on its links and locates people based on the variations caused by the movements of people in the monitored area. In this paper, we present features and functioning of an RF sensor network deployed in a home for indoor localization and tracking for ambient assisted living (AAL). Our system is composed of low-power IEEE 802.15. 4 transceivers, operating in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, that collect and process RSS data in real-time and estimate the locations of people over time.
Hazard functions and macroeconomic dynamics

The Calvo assumption (Calvo, 1983) is widely used in the macroeconomic literature to model market frictions that limit the ability of economic agents to reoptimize their control variables. In spite of its virtues, the Calvo assumption also implies singular adjustment behavior at the firm level as well as a restrictive aggregation mechanism for the whole economy. In this study, I examine implications of the Calvo assumption for macroeconomic dynamics. To do so, I extend the Calvo assumption to a more general case based on the concept of the statistical hazard function. Two applications of this approach are studied in the DSGE framework. In the first essay, I apply this approach to a New Keynesian model, and demonstrate that tractability gained from the Calvo pricing assumption is costly in terms of inflation dynamics. The second essay estimates aggregate price reset hazard function using the theoretical framework constructed in the first essay, and shows that the constant hazard function implied by the Calvo assumption is strongly rejected by the aggregate data. In the third essay, I further explore implications of the empirically based hazard function for inflation persistence and monetary policy. I find that the empirically plausible aggregate price reset hazard function can generate simulated data that are consistent with inflation gap persistence found in the US CPI data. Based on these results, I conclude that the price reset hazard function plays a crucial role for generating inflation dynamics. The last essay applies the same modeling approach to a RBC model with employment rigidity. I find that, when introducing a more general stochastic adjustment process, the employment dynamics vary with a parameter, which determines the monotonic property of the hazard function. In particular, the volatility of employment is increasing, but the persistence is decreasing in the value of the parameter.
RAD sequencing reveals genomewide divergence between independent invasions of the European green crab (Carcinus maenas) in the Northwest Atlantic

Abstract Genomic studies of invasive species can reveal both invasive pathways and functional differences underpinning patterns of colonization success. The European green crab (Carcinus maenas) was initially introduced to eastern North America nearly 200 years ago where it expanded northwards to eastern Nova Scotia. A subsequent invasion to Nova Scotia from a northern European source allowed further range expansion, providing a unique opportunity to study the invasion genomics of a species with multiple invasions. Here, we use restriction‐site‐associated DNA sequencing‐derived SNPs to explore fine‐scale genomewide differentiation between these two invasions. We identified 9137 loci from green crab sampled from 11 locations along eastern North America and compared spatial variation to mitochondrial COI sequence variation used previously to characterize these invasions. Overall spatial divergence among invasions was high (pairwise FST ~0.001 to 0.15) and spread across many loci, with a mean FST ~0.052 and 52% of loci examined characterized by FST values >0.05. The majority of the most divergent loci (i.e., outliers, ~1.2%) displayed latitudinal clines in allele frequency highlighting extensive genomic divergence among the invasions. Discriminant analysis of principal components (both neutral and outlier loci) clearly resolved the two invasions spatially and was highly correlated with mitochondrial divergence. Our results reveal extensive cryptic intraspecific genomic diversity associated with differing patterns of colonization success and demonstrates clear utility for genomic approaches to delineating the distribution and colonization success of aquatic invasive species.