Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Substantivalist and Relationalist Approaches to Spacetime

Substantivalists believe that spacetime and its parts are fundamental constituents of reality. Relationalists deny this, claiming that spacetime enjoys only a derivative existence. I begin by describing how the Galilean symmetries of Newtonian physics tell against both Newton's brand of substantivalism and the most obvious relationalist alternative. I then review the (now) obvious substantivalist response to the problem, which is to ditch substantival space for substantival spacetime. The resulting position has many affinities with what are arguably the most natural interpretations of special and general relativity. I move on to consider and reject two recent antisubstantivalist lines of thought. The interim conclusion is that the best argument for relationalism is an appeal to Ockham's razor. However, for this to be successful there must be genuine relationalist theories that share the theoretical virtues of their substantivalist rivals but without the additional ontological commitment. The bulk of the paper is therefore an investigation of various concrete relationalist proposals. I distinguish three options for the relationalist in the face of the success of Galilean invariant physics and trace how these generalise to relativistic physics. One of the options (Barbour's Machian approach to dynamics) is particularly promising but, since its basic objects end up being spacetime points, this does not help the prospects of relationalism as traditionally conceived. I end with some reflections on the fate of substantivalism in the aftermath of the Hole Argument, concluding that we have as yet to be given good reasons to abandon the natural, substantivalist interpretation of current physics.
Can Learning Disabilities Explain Low Literacy Performance

This report explores the relationship between self-reported learning disabilities (LD) and low literacy performance, using the Canadian portion of the data from the 2003 International Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (IALSS). Specifically, the author focuses on two issues: the influence of LD status on prose literacy scores, after controlling for a number of variables known to affect literacy; and whether the variables most strongly associated with LD are the same as those for low literacy skill. Based on his observations, the author concludes that learning disabilities and low literacy should be recognised as being so closely related that differentiating between them is unnecessary and overly burdensome to both individuals and to the education system. At the same time, learning disabilities are not the only reason for poorly developed reading skills and it is better to provide assistance to all who need it by tailoring services according to need.
Asymptotics of the entropy rate for a hidden Markov process

We calculate the Shannon entropy rate of a binary hidden Markov process (HMP), of given transition rate and noise /spl epsiv/ (emission), as a series expansion in /spl epsiv/. The first two orders are calculated exactly. We then evaluate, for finite histories, simple upper-bounds of Cover and Thomas. Surprisingly, we find that for a fixed order k and history of n steps, the bounds become independent of n for large enough n. This observation is the basis of a conjecture, that the upper-bound obtained for n/spl ges/(k+3)/2 gives the exact entropy rate for any desired order k of /spl epsiv/.
Identifying Information in Stock Message Boards and Its Implications for Stock Market Efficiency

The information value of stock message boards has often been debated. A main difficulty in assessing the value is the presence of a large number of posts with varying quality. This paper presents an intuitive approach to identify and aggregate information in stock message boards. We weigh each post’s recommendation by its author’s credibility based on accuracy of his past posts. We find that the weighted average recommendation of a stock message board has prediction power over future excessive returns of the stock. The effect is both statistically and economically significant. Interestingly, a simple average recommendation of a stock message board has no prediction power for future stock movements. These results indicate that there exist informed investors in stock message boards, but their information is neither fully incorporated into the market price, nor fully acknowledged by peers in stock message boards. An implementable trading strategy is developed to explore the information value of stock message boards. We find that significant economic gain can be achieved even after taking into consideration of trading costs. We also discuss various approaches to improve the information aggregation process and thus the performance of the trading strategy.
Contribution of positively charged flanking residues to the insertion of transmembrane helices into the endoplasmic reticulum

Positively charged residues located near the cytoplasmic end of hydrophobic segments in membrane proteins promote membrane insertion and formation of transmembrane α-helices. A quantitative understanding of this effect has been lacking, however. Here, using an in vitro transcription–translation system to study the insertion of model hydrophobic segments into dog pancreatic rough microsomes, we show that a single Lys or Arg residue typically contributes approximately −0.5 kcal/mol to the apparent free energy of membrane insertion (ΔGapp) when placed near the cytoplasmic end of a hydrophobic segment and that stretches of 3–6 Lys residues can contribute significantly to ΔGapp from a distance of up to ≈13 residues away.
Atmospheric potential oxygen: New observations and their implications for some atmospheric and oceanic models

Measurements of atmospheric O2/N2 ratios and CO2 concentrations can be combined into a tracer known as atmospheric potential oxygen (APO ≈ O2/N2 + CO2) that is conservative with respect to terrestrial biological activity. Consequently, APO reflects primarily ocean biogeochemistry and atmospheric circulation. Building on the work of Stephens et al. (1998), we present a set of APO observations for the years 1996–2003 with unprecedented spatial coverage. Combining data from the Princeton and Scripps air sampling programs, the data set includes new observations collected from ships in the low‐latitude Pacific. The data show a smaller interhemispheric APO gradient than was observed in past studies, and different structure within the hemispheres. These differences appear to be due primarily to real changes in the APO field over time. The data also show a significant maximum in APO near the equator. Following the approach of Gruber et al. (2001), we compare these observations with predictions of APO generated from ocean O2 and CO2 flux fields and forward models of atmospheric transport. Our model predictions differ from those of earlier modeling studies, reflecting primarily the choice of atmospheric transport model (TM3 in this study). The model predictions show generally good agreement with the observations, matching the size of the interhemispheric gradient, the approximate amplitude and extent of the equatorial maximum, and the amplitude and phasing of the seasonal APO cycle at most stations. Room for improvement remains. The agreement in the interhemispheric gradient appears to be coincidental; over the last decade, the true APO gradient has evolved to a value that is consistent with our time‐independent model. In addition, the equatorial maximum is somewhat more pronounced in the data than the model. This may be due to overly vigorous model transport, or insufficient spatial resolution in the air‐sea fluxes used in our modeling effort. Finally, the seasonal cycles predicted by the model of atmospheric transport show evidence of an excessive seasonal rectifier in the Aleutian Islands and smaller problems elsewhere.
Biochemical effects, hypolipidemic and anti-inflammatory activities of Artemisia vulgaris extract in hypercholesterolemic rats

The purpose of the present study was to investigate hypolipidemic and anti-inflammatory effects of Artemisia vulgaris extract in hypercholesterolemic rats. Hypercholesterolemia was induced by feeding of rats with high fat diet containing 3% cholesterol in olein oil, for 8 weeks. Feeding of rats with high fat diet for 8 weeks, leading to a significant increase in serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, malondialdehyde and nitric oxide, tumor necrosis factor-α levels and a significant decrease in serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol level, liver hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase activity and paraoxonase-1 activities as compared to the normal control group. Treatment of high fat diet rats with Artemisia vulgaris extract for 4 weeks at a dose of 100 mg/kg per day, resulted in normalized serum lipid profile, a significant increase in paraoxonase-1 activity and decrease in serum malondialdehyde, nitric oxide and tumor necrosis factor-α level as compared to high fat diet-treated animals. Also the extract caused a significant decrease in hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase activity as compared with both high fat diet-treated animals and control ones. In conclusion, Artemisia vulgaris extract has hypolipidemic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant properties; it may serve as a source for the prevention of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases.
The Moderating Effect of Employees’ Growth Need Strength on the Relationship between Job Characteristics and Job Satisfaction

Job characteristics and job satisfaction are positively associated factors in the management literature. Many researchers like Hackman and Oldham (1978) proved moderating effect of employees’ growth need strength on the relationship between the above said variables. This study attempted to find out the extent to which employees’ growth need strength work as moderator in banking sector of Sri Lanka. For the purpose of the study sixty – two employees were randomly selected from three private banks and the main objective of the study is to find out the moderating effect of employees’ growth need strength on the relationship between job characteristics and job satisfaction. Response of samples was processed with the help of the SPSS 13.0 software package. Two hypotheses were set out to explain the research problem; (H1) Employees’ growth Need strength has significant impact on the relationship between job characteristics and job satisfaction. (H2) Employees’ Growth Need Strength works as predictor of job satisfaction of bank employees. First hypothesis was rejected because R square change is not significant but H2 was accepted (r value =0.678).
The Role of Trust in Collaborative Relationships: A Multi-Dimensional Approach

Although trust has been given much attention in the management literature as an explanatory factor, less research has been devoted to defining and operationalizing the role of trust, particularly in relation to interorganizational collaboration. The role of trust in collaboration is usually attributed ex post; successful alliances seem to involve trust; unsuccessful alliances do not. As such, much of the extant literature has treated trust as a residual term for the complex social-psychological processes necessary for social action to occur. Yet the relationship between trust and performance remains somewhat elusive in collaborative relationships, perhaps due to the frequent application of interpersonal types of trust to interorganizational types of collaborations. Based on a synthesis of research on trust with research on other aspects of collaboration, this paper identifies the multi-dimensional role played by trust in collaborative relationships. By distinguishing between different roles of trust pertaining to different phases of alliance evolution, and recognizing the recursive nature of collaborative trust, this paper attempts to respond to calls for research examining the evolution of trust and its impact on interorganizational collaborative relationships. The simultaneous focus on trust as an antecedent of relationship development, a moderator of these on outcome, and direct effects on relationship outcome has important implications for both research and practice alike.
Postoperative recurrence of adult renal cell carcinoma associated with Xp11.2 translocation/TFE3 gene fusion

Objective To analyze the postoperative recurrence of renal cell carcinoma associated with Xp11.2 translocation/TFE3 gene fusion (Xp11.2 tRCC). Methods This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board and performed in accordance with the ethical standards established by the institution. Demographic, clinical, pathological, and follow-up data were compiled for the study cohort. Results During a mean follow-up of 41.3 months (range, 3–104 months), 8 of 34 patients with Xp11.2 tRCC were confirmed to have recurrence. Three of these patients died with poor outcomes due to a vena cava tumor embolus, and one died of distant metastasis 48 months after the initial nephrectomy during which lymph node metastasis was found. Three patients survived after cytoreduction surgery. One patient was diagnosed with lung metastasis 11 months postoperatively. Conclusions The TNM classification provides significant prognostic information for Xp11.2 tRCC. A relatively active surveillance algorithm is recommended, and cytoreduction surgery is an effective approach for recurrent Xp11.2 tRCC. Larger studies are required to more extensively investigate the recurrence of these potentially aggressive tumors.
Heat shock protein 70 inhibits apoptosis in cancer cells through simultaneous and independent mechanisms.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are highly conserved and serve a multitude of functions that mediate cell survival. HSP70, the only inducible form of the 70-kilodalton subfamily of HSPs, is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer cells and has been shown to inhibit caspase-dependent apoptosis. We aimed to elucidate the mechanism by which HSP70 inhibits apoptosis in cancer cells. METHODS HSP70 expression was down-regulated in cultured pancreatic cancer cells by exposure to quercetin, triptolide, or short interfering RNAs. Intracellular Ca2+, cytosolic cathepsin B activity, caspase-3 activity, cell viability, and lysosome integrity were measured using colorimetric assays. Immunofluorescence assays were used to localize cathepsin B and Lamp2. BAPTA-AM was used to chelate intracellular Ca2+. RESULTS Inhibition of HSP70 increased intracellular Ca2+ levels in pancreatic and colon cancer cell lines and led to loss of lysosome integrity in pancreatic cancer cells. The release of intracellular Ca2+ and lysosomal enzymes activated caspase-dependent apoptosis independently and simultaneously. CONCLUSIONS HSP70 inhibits apoptosis in cancer cells by 2 mechanisms: attenuation of cytosolic calcium and stabilization of lysosomes. HSP70-mediated cell survival might occur in other types of cancer cells.
Physical Activity Behavior and Role Overload in Mothers

We examined physical activity stages of change, physical activity behavior, and role overload in different stages of motherhood in a predominantly Australian sample. Neither physical activity behavior, stages of physical activity change, nor role overload significantly differed across motherhood groups. Role overload was significantly higher for mothers in the contemplation, planning, and action stages of physical activity than in the maintenance stage of change. Role overload had a weak, although significant, negative correlation with leisure-time physical activity. We conclude that strategies focused upon reducing role overload or perceived role overload have only limited potential to meaningfully increase leisure-time physical activity in mothers.
Relating Time and Customer Averages for Queues Using ‘forward’ Coupling from the Past

We give a new method for simulating the time average steady-state distribution of a continuous-time queueing system, by extending a ‘read-once’ or ‘forward’ version of the coupling from the past (CFTP) algorithm developed for discrete-time Markov chains. We then use this to give a new proof of the ‘Poisson arrivals see time averages’ (PASTA) property, and a new proof for why renewal arrivals see either stochastically smaller or larger congestion than the time average if interarrival times are respectively new better than used in expectation (NBUE) or new worse than used in expectation (NWUE).
Full-Genome Sequencing and Confirmation of the Causative Agent of Erythrocytic Inclusion Body Syndrome in Coho Salmon Identifies a New Type of Piscine Orthoreovirus

Erythrocytic inclusion body syndrome (EIBS) causes mass mortality in farmed salmonid fish, including the coho salmon, Onchorhynchus kisutchi, and chinook salmon, O. tshawytscha. The causative agent of the disease is a virus with an icosahedral virion structure, but this virus has not been characterized at the molecular level. In this study, we sequenced the genome of a virus purified from EIBS-affected coho salmon. The virus has 10 dsRNA genomic segments (L1, L2, L3, M1, M2, M3, S1, S2, S3, and S4), which closely resembles the genomic organization of piscine orthoreovirus (PRV), the causative agent of heart and skeletal inflammation (HSMI) in Atlantic salmon and HSMI-like disease in coho salmon. The genomic segments of the novel virus contain at least 10 open reading frames (ORFs): lambda 1 (λ1), λ2, λ3, mu 1 (μ1), μ2, μNS, sigma 1 (σ1), σ2, σ3, and σNS. An additional ORF encoding a 12.6-kDa protein (homologue of PRV p13) occurs in the same genomic segment as σ3. Phylogenetic analyses based on S1 and λ3 suggest that this novel virus is closely related to PRV, but distinctly different. Therefore, we designated the new virus ‘piscine orthoreovirus 2’ (PRV-2). Reverse transcription–quantitative real-time PCR revealed a significant increase in PRV-2 RNA in fish blood after the artificial infection of EIBS-naïve fish but not in that of fish that had recovered from EIBS. The degree of anemia in each fish increased as the PRV-2 RNA increased during an epizootic season of EIBS on an inland coho salmon farm. These results indicate that PRV-2 is the probable causative agent of EIBS in coho salmon, and that the host acquires immunity to reinfection with this virus. Further research is required to determine the host range of PRV species and the relationship between EIBS and HSMI in salmonid fish.
Molecular approaches to the identification of Bulinus species in south-west Nigeria and observations on natural snail infections with schistosomes

Abstract The current study considers the distribution of a small sample of 138 Bulinus snails, across 28 localities within eight Nigerian states. Snails were identified using a combination of molecular methods involving both DNA sequencing of a partial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) fragment and restriction profiles obtained from ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (its) amplicons. The results showed that the majority of Bulinus samples tested belonged to the species Bulinus truncatus while only two were Bulinus globosus. The use of RsaI restriction endonuclease to cleave the ribosomal its of Bulinus, as a method of species identification, was adopted for the majority of samples, this being a quicker and cheaper method better suited to small laboratory environments. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the schistosome Dra1 repeat within each of the collected Bulinus samples was employed to determine the extent and distribution of infected snails within the sample areas. Successful amplification of the Dra1 repeat demonstrated that 29.7% of snails were infected with schistosomes. Sequencing of the partial schistosome its from a small subset of snail samples suggested that some snails were either penetrated by both Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma bovis miracidia or hybrid miracidia formed from the two species.
Bilingualism gridlocked at the University of Kwazulu-Natal

This paper situates itself in the context of proposed bi/multilingual Higher Education policy in post-apartheid South Africa. It provides a descriptive analysis of language-user attitudes toward a bilingual (English-isiZulu) medium of education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). The study postulates a dissonance between proposed bilingual policy and practice at UKZN due to resistance exhibited by the university community. Three objectives are pursued: (1) To report on the new bilingual policy currently implemented at the university, (2) To survey language attitudes prevalent among university affiliates, (3) To relate its conclusions to a re-evaluation of the implementation procedure of bilingual policy of UKZN, in line with the desirability of its constituents. A survey-questionnaire is administered to staff and students, probing the following salient factors: (a) language-use patterns (b) proficiency in isiZulu (c) language preferences (d) language attitudes and (e) awareness of language policy in Higher Education.
Two Types of FtsH Protease Subunits Are Required for Chloroplast Biogenesis and Photosystem II Repair in Arabidopsis

FtsH protease is important in chloroplast biogenesis and thylakoid maintenance. Although bacteria contain only one essential FTSH gene, multiple genes exist in cyanobacteria and higher plants. However, the functional significance of FTSH multiplication in plants is unclear. We hypothesized that some FTSH genes may be redundant. To test this hypothesis, we generated double mutant combinations among the different FTSH genes in Arabidopsis thaliana. A double mutant of ftsh1 and ftsh8 showed no obvious phenotypic alterations, and disruption of either FTSH1 or FTSH5 enhanced the phenotype of the ftsh2 mutant. Unexpectedly, new phenotypes were recovered from crosses between ftsh2 and ftsh8 and between ftsh5 and ftsh1, including albinism, heterotrophy, disruption of flowering, and severely reduced male fertility. These results suggest that the duplicated genes, FTSH1 and FTSH5 (subunit type A) and FTSH2 and FTSH8 (subunit type B), are redundant. Furthermore, they reveal that the presence of two types of subunits is essential for complex formation, photosystem II repair, and chloroplast biogenesis.
Dissociable Intrinsic Connectivity Networks for Salience Processing and Executive Control

Variations in neural circuitry, inherited or acquired, may underlie important individual differences in thought, feeling, and action patterns. Here, we used task-free connectivity analyses to isolate and characterize two distinct networks typically coactivated during functional MRI tasks. We identified a “salience network,” anchored by dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC) and orbital frontoinsular cortices with robust connectivity to subcortical and limbic structures, and an “executive-control network” that links dorsolateral frontal and parietal neocortices. These intrinsic connectivity networks showed dissociable correlations with functions measured outside the scanner. Prescan anxiety ratings correlated with intrinsic functional connectivity of the dACC node of the salience network, but with no region in the executive-control network, whereas executive task performance correlated with lateral parietal nodes of the executive-control network, but with no region in the salience network. Our findings suggest that task-free analysis of intrinsic connectivity networks may help elucidate the neural architectures that support fundamental aspects of human behavior.