Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prdm1a directly activates foxd3 and tfap2a during zebrafish neural crest specification

The neural crest comprises multipotent precursor cells that are induced at the neural plate border by a series of complex signaling and genetic interactions. Several transcription factors, termed neural crest specifiers, are necessary for early neural crest development; however, the nature of their interactions and regulation is not well understood. Here, we have established that the PR/SET domain-containing transcription factor Prdm1a is co-expressed with two essential neural crest specifiers, foxd3 and tfap2a, at the neural plate border. Through rescue experiments, chromatin immunoprecipitation and reporter assays, we have determined that Prdm1a directly binds to and transcriptionally activates enhancers for foxd3 and tfap2a and that they are functional, direct targets of Prdm1a at the neural plate border. Additionally, analysis of dominant activator and dominant repressor Prdm1a constructs suggests that Prdm1a is required both as a transcriptional activator and transcriptional repressor for neural crest development in zebrafish embryos.
Impacts of Medicaid managed care on children.

OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of switching from a fee-for-service (FFS) delivery system to managed care on access to, use of, and satisfaction with health care for children. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING A 1998 survey of Medicaid recipients in rural Minnesota. STUDY DESIGN Using a quasi-experimental framework, we compare the experiences of children on Medicaid living in counties that had switched to managed care with those of children living in counties operating under FFS Medicaid. We address the impact of Medicaid managed care (MMC) on access to, use of, and satisfaction with care. DATA COLLECTION METHODS A stratified random sample of children on Medicaid was drawn based on Medicaid enrollment files. Telephone interviews were conducted with the child's parent or guardian between March and June 1998. An overall response rate of 70 percent was achieved, yielding a sample of 1,106 children (814 in MMC and 792 in Medicaid FFS). PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We find very few significant differences in access to, use of, or satisfaction with health care services for children under MMC relative to FFS. MMC did not change the patterns of health care service use or the location at which care is delivered, two major goals of MMC initiatives. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that the Medicaid program's shift from FFS to managed care had little impact on the pattern of children's health care use, the location at which they obtained care, or the satisfaction with the care they received.
Knowledge compilation and theory approximation

Computational efficiency is a central concern in the design of knowledge representation systems. In order to obtain efficient systems, it has been suggested that one should limit the form of the statements in the knowledge base or use an incomplete inference mechanism. The former approach is often too restrictive for practical applications, whereas the latter leads to uncertainty about exactly what can and cannot be inferred from the knowledge base. We present a third alternative, in which knowledge given in a general representation language is translated (compiled) into a tractable form—allowing for efficient subsequent query answering. We show how propositional logical theories can be compiled into Horn theories that approximate the original information. The approximations bound the original theory from below and above in terms of logical strength. The procedures are extended to other tractable languages (for example, binary clauses) and to the first-order case. Finally, we demonstrate the generality of our approach by compiling concept descriptions in a general frame-based language into a tractable form.
Lack of housing and its impact on human health: a service perspective.

WL TE SHALL DISCUSS HOW housing affects two groups of people: those whose physical status is precarious and whose home situation may be unsafe and those who are homeless. For the frail, homebound elderly, home is where health care services should be offered, if possible. However, the quality and safety of the home are legitimate concerns of the home-visiting health care staff as well as of the elderly patient and family members. For those altogether without housing, a double bind occurs: lack of shelter makes health worse, and makes health care harder to obtain. Certain observations about the homebound and about people are as we review impact human health. housing be combined for good health to be We draw here upon the St. Vincent's Hospital community experience for examples.
The Canada-United Kingdom Deep Submillimeter Survey. V. The Submillimeter Properties of Lyman Break Galaxies

We have used 850 μm maps obtained as part of the Canada-UK Deep Submillimeter Survey (CUDSS) to investigate the submillimeter properties of Lyman break galaxies (LBGs). We used three samples of LBGs: two from the Canada-France Deep Fields (CFDF) survey covering CUDSS 14 and CUDSS 03, and one from Steidel and collaborators also covering CUDSS 14. We measure a mean flux from both CFDF LBG samples at a level of ~2 σ of 0.414 ± 0.263 mJy for CUDSS 03 and 0.382 ± 0.206 mJy for CUDSS 14, but the Steidel et al. sample is consistent with zero flux. From this we place upper limits on the Lyman break contribution to the 850 μm background of ~20%. We have also measured the cross-clustering between the LBGs and the SCUBA sources. From this measurement we infer a large clustering amplitude of r0 = 11.5 ± 3.0 ± 3.0 h-1 Mpc for the Steidel et al. sample (where the first error is statistical and the second systematic), r0 = 4.5 ± 7.0 ± 5.0 h-1 Mpc for CFDF 14, and r0 = 7.5 ± 7.0 ± 5.0 h-1 Mpc for CFDF 03. The Steidel et al. sample, for which we have the most significant detection of clustering, is also the largest of the three samples and has spectroscopically confirmed redshifts
Changing Children's Images of Scientists: Can Teachers Make a Difference?.

Teachers generally wish to improve their pupils' attitudes towards science and scientists. There are many ways of doing this, one of which is to use children's drawings to elicit and challenge the views they hold. This article describes the results of a study of 281 primary (5-11 year-old) pupils and draws on results obtained from 132 secondary (11-13 year-old) pupils to gain clues as to when and how children develop their ideas. A technique was used in which children were asked to draw an imagined pair of scientists in order to reveal their images of scientists and to explore issues of gender, race, social relevance and collaboration in science. Suggestions are offered on how to counter the stereotypes children form.
Systematic Data Placement Optimization in Multi-Cloud Storage for Complex Requirements

Multi-cloud storage can provide better features such as availability and scalability. Current works use multiple cloud storage providers with erasure coding to achieve certain benefits including fault-tolerance improving or vendor lock-in avoiding. However, these works only use the multi-cloud storage in ad-hoc ways, and none of them considers the optimization issue in general. In fact, the key to optimize the multi-cloud storage is to effectively choose providers and erasure coding parameters. Meanwhile, the data placement should satisfy system or application developers' requirements. As developers often demand various objectives to be optimized simultaneously, such complex requirement optimization cannot be easily fulfilled by ad-hoc ways. This paper presents Triones, a systematic model to formally formulate data placement in multi-cloud storage by using erasure coding. Firstly, Triones addresses the problem of data placement optimization by applying non-linear programming and geometric space abstraction. It could satisfy complex requirements involving multi-objective optimization. Secondly, Triones can effectively balance among different objectives in optimization and is scalable to incorporate new ones. The effectiveness of the model is proved by extensive experiments on multiple cloud storage providers in the real world. For simple requirements, Triones can achieve 50 percent access latency reduction, compared with the model in μLibCloud. For complex requirements, Triones can improve fault-tolerance level by 2× and reduce access latency and vendor lock-in level by 30~70 percent and 49.85 percent respectively with about 19.19 percent more cost, compared with the model only optimizing cost in Scalia.
Baseline seabed habitat and biotope mapping for a proposed marine reserve

Seabed mapping can quantify the extent of benthic habitats that comprise marine ecosystems, and assess the impact of fisheries on an ecosystem. In this study, the distribution of seabed habitats in a proposed no-take Marine Reserve along the northeast coast of Great Barrier Island, New Zealand, was mapped using underwater video combined with bathymetry and substratum data. As a result of the boundary extending to the 12 nautical mile Territorial Limit, it would have been the largest coastal Marine Reserve in the country. Recreational and commercial fisheries occur in the region and would be expected to affect species’ abundance. The seabed of the study area and adjacent coastal waters has been trawled up to five times per year. Benthic communities were grouped by multivariate cluster analysis into four biotope classes; namely (1) shallow water macroalgae Ecklonia sp. and Ulva sp. on rocky substrata (Eck.Ulv); and deeper (2) diverse epifauna of sponges and bryozoans on rocky substrata (Por.Bry), (3) brittle star Amphiura sp. and sea anemone Edwardsia sp. on muddy sand (Amph.Edw), and (4) hydroids on mud (Hyd). In biotopes Por.Bry, Amph.Edw and Hyd, there where boulders and rocks were present, and diverse sponge, bryozoan and coral communities. Fifty species were recorded in the deep water survey including significant numbers of the shallow-water hexactinellid glass sponges Symplectella rowi Dendy, 1924 and Rossella ijimai Dendy, 1924, the giant pipe demosponge Isodictya cavicornuta Dendy, 1924, black corals, and locally endemic gorgonians. The habitats identified in the waters to the northeast of Great Barrier Island are likely to be representative of similar depth ranges in northeast New Zealand. This study provides a baseline of the benthic habitats so that should the area become a Marine Reserve, any habitat change might be related to protection from fishing activities and impacts, such as recovery of epifauna following cessation of trawling. The habitat map may also be used to stratify future sampling that would aim to collect and identify epifauna and infauna for identification, and thus better describe the biodiversity of the area.
The Dual-Process Theory of Moral Judgments : A Way of Explaining Why VMPFC Patients Make More Utilitarian Judgments in Relation to Harmful Situations

According to Joshua Greene’s dual-process theory, our moral judgments are processed in one of two systems in the brain referred to as the emotional (quick, unconscious) and rational (slow, conscious) system. The reason for why people tend to answer differently in the footbridge dilemma compared to the trolley dilemma is because the emotional system is dominating over the rational system. Research has demonstrated that patients with ventromedial prefrontal cortex damage make more utilitarian judgments in moral dilemmas in relation to harmful situations. According to the dual-process theory, this is because the emotional system has been impaired which results in that the only working system is the rational system. The aim of this thesis is to investigate how the dual-process theory tries to explain why our moral judgments tend to differ in some moral dilemmas. This thesis will also look at how the dual-process theory tries to explain why patients with ventromedial prefrontal cortex damage make utilitarian judgments in relation to harmful situations. This thesis will sustain that the dual-process theory have gained strong empirical support, especially from the research that has been made on patients with ventromedial prefrontal cortex damage. This thesis will also argue that some modifications needs to be made on the dual-process theory in order to make it stronger.
An Integrated Study to Analyze Soil Microbial Community Structure and Metabolic Potential in Two Forest Types

Soil microbial metabolic potential and ecosystem function have received little attention owing to difficulties in methodology. In this study, we selected natural mature forest and natural secondary forest and analyzed the soil microbial community and metabolic potential combing the high-throughput sequencing and GeoChip technologies. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA sequencing showed that one known archaeal phylum and 15 known bacterial phyla as well as unclassified phylotypes were presented in these forest soils, and Acidobacteria, Protecobacteria, and Actinobacteria were three of most abundant phyla. The detected microbial functional gene groups were related to different biogeochemical processes, including carbon degradation, carbon fixation, methane metabolism, nitrogen cycling, phosphorus utilization, sulfur cycling, etc. The Shannon index for detected functional gene probes was significantly higher (P<0.05) at natural secondary forest site. The regression analysis showed that a strong positive (P<0.05) correlation was existed between the soil microbial functional gene diversity and phylogenetic diversity. Mantel test showed that soil oxidizable organic carbon, soil total nitrogen and cellulose, glucanase, and amylase activities were significantly linked (P<0.05) to the relative abundance of corresponded functional gene groups. Variance partitioning analysis showed that a total of 81.58% of the variation in community structure was explained by soil chemical factors, soil temperature, and plant diversity. Therefore, the positive link of soil microbial structure and composition to functional activity related to ecosystem functioning was existed, and the natural secondary forest soil may occur the high microbial metabolic potential. Although the results can't directly reflect the actual microbial populations and functional activities, this study provides insight into the potential activity of the microbial community and associated feedback responses of the terrestrial ecosystem to environmental changes.
Relationship between Information Richness and Exchange Outcomes: Moderating Effects of Media Richness and Governance Mechanisms

The present study identifies the richness levels of various Internet media and empirically examines the moderating effects of Internet media richness (rich and lean media) and Internet communication governance mechanisms (legal contracts and relational norms) on the relationships between rich and lean information communication, and exchange outcomes. This study uses regression analysis to analyze data collected from 284 Chinese companies. The analysis reveals that: (1) Rich information exchange is effective when rich Internet media is frequently used. Conversely, the effectiveness of lean information exchange is not significantly affected by the frequent use of lean Internet media; (2) While lean information exchange is effective when legal contracts are extensively utilized as a governance mechanism, rich information exchange is effective when high levels of relational norms exist; and (3) Lean information exchange is effective when a high level of plural form governance (i.e., a combination of relational norms and legal contracts) exists.
The Certification of the Mass fractions of PAH Metabolites (1-hydroxyphenanthrene, 1-hydroxypyrene, and 3-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene) in Two Fish Bile Materials, BCR-720 (sedement-exposed flounder bile), BCR-721 (oil-exposed plaice bile).

This report describes the preparation, homogeneity study, stability study and certification of two fish bile materials: BCR-720, sediment-exposed flounder bile and BCR-721, oil-exposed plaice bile. In BCR-720 three metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons ( PAHs) are certified: 1-hydroxy phenanthrene, 1-hydroxy pyrene and 3-hydroxy benzo[a]pyrene. 1-hydroxy pyrene is certified in BCR-721. A description of the analytical procedures used in the homogeneity and stability studies as well as in the certification study is given. All relevant data from the homogeneity and stability study and certification measurements are presented. Major conclusions from earlier feasibility studies, the results obtained for 2-hydroxy naphthalene (not certified), and implications for the optimal use of the materials are also discussed. The mission of the Joint Research Centre is to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of European Union policies. As a service of the European Commission, the JRC functions as a reference centre of science and technology for the Community. Close to the policy-making process, it serves the common interest of the Member States, while being independent of commercial and national interests. 15 LA -N A -2068-E N -C
Language acquisition in study abroad and formal instruction contexts

1. Chapter 1. Contributions of study abroad research to our understanding of SLA processes and outcomes: The SALA Project, an appraisal (by Sanz, Cristina) 2. Part I. The SALA Project: An overview 3. Chapter 2. Study abroad and formal instruction contrasted: The SALA Project (by Perez-Vidal, Carmen) 4. Chapter 3. The 'ins and outs' of a study abroad programme: The SALA exchange programme (by Beattie, John) 5. Part II. The SALA Project: Empirical findings 6. Chapter 4. Oral accuracy growth after formal instruction and study abroad: Onset level, contact factors and long-term effects (by Juan-Garau, Maria) 7. Chapter 5. L2 fluency development in formal instruction and study abroad: The role of initial fluency level and language contact (by Valls-Ferrer, Margalida) 8. Chapter 6. Phonological development in L2 speech production during study abroad programmes differing in length of stay (by Avello, Pilar) 9. Chapter 7. The role of onset level on L2 perceptual phonological development after formal instruction and study abroad (by Mora, Joan C.) 10. Chapter 8. Listening performance and onset level in formal instruction and study abroad (by Beattie, John) 11. Chapter 9. Comparing progress in academic writing after formal instruction and study abroad (by Perez-Vidal, Carmen) 12. Chapter 10. English L2 learners' lexico-grammatical and motivational development at home and abroad (by Juan-Garau, Maria) 13. Chapter 11. A longitudinal study of learners' motivation and beliefs in at home and study abroad contexts (by Trenchs-Parera, Mireia) 14. Chapter 12. Contrasting intercultural awareness at home and abroad (by Merino, Elena) 15. Part III. The SALA Project and beyond 16. Chapter 13. Research on language development during study abroad (by DeKeyser, Robert M.) 17. Index
Improving Spectrum Sensing Performance by Exploiting Multiuser Diversity

In traditional wireless systems, spectrum or frequency is allocated to licensed users over a geographic area. Within these constraints, spectrum is considered a scarce resource due to static spectrum allocation. Recent empirical studies of radio spectrum usage have shown that licensed spectrum is typically highly underutilized (Broderson et al., 2004; McHenry, 2003). To recapture the so-called “spectrum holes,” various schemes for allowing unlicensed or secondary users to opportunistically access unused spectrum have been proposed. Opportunistic or dynamic spectrum access is achieved by cognitive radios that are capable of sensing the radio environment for spectrum holes and dynamically tuning to different frequency channels to access them. Such radios are often called frequency-agile or spectrum-agile.
A PILOT STUDY TO DEVELOP DISCOURSE CODES SPECIFIC TO PREFRONTAL DYSFUNCTION

Title of Dissertation / Thesis: A PILOT STUDY TO DEVELOP DISCOURSE CODES SPECIFIC TO PREFRONTAL DYSFUNCTION Inbal Eshel, Master of Arts, 2004 Dissertation / Thesis Directed By: Nan Ratner, Ed.D. , Chair, Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences This pilot study developed a set of codes designed to capture the “nonaphasic” but characteristic discourse deficits that may be present following prefrontal cortex damage (PFCD). The codes were utilized based on narrative sample elicitation to investigate between-group differences in two study populations: patients with left, right, or bi-frontal PFCD and age and education-matched healthy comparison group participants. Narrative samples were coded on indices of content units, thematic units, story grammar features, and discourse errors, and analyzed using CLAN. Results of this study support the original deficit hypotheses. The coding schema demonstrated fair to good inter-rater reliability, stronger performances by the healthy comparison group across all four levels of analysis, and poorer performance overall on the retell phase than the tell phase. Qualitative analysis revealed relatively few discourse errors associated with the healthy comparison group, while various classic discourse errors were associated with the PFCD group. A PILOT STUDY TO DEVELOP DISCOURSE CODES SPECIFIC TO PREFRONTAL DYSFUNCTION
Alternating-Offer Bargaining with the Global Games Information Structure

In this study, I examine the alternating-offer bilateral bargaining model with private correlated values. The correlation of values is modeled via the global games information structure. I focus on the double limits of perfect Bayesian equilibria as offers become frequent and the correlation approaches perfect. I characterize the Pareto frontier of the double limits and show that it is efficient, but the surplus split generally differs from the Nash Bargaining split. I then construct a double limit that approximates the Nash Bargaining split in the ex-post surplus, but with a delay. Further, I prove the Folk theorem when the range of the buyer's values coincides with the range of the seller's costs: any feasible and individually rational ex-ante payoff profile can be approximated by a double limit.
A Multi-scale Multiple Instance Video Description Network

Generating natural language descriptions for in-the-wild videos is a challenging task. Most state-of-the-art methods for solving this problem borrow existing deep convolutional neural network (CNN) architectures (AlexNet, GoogLeNet) to extract a visual representation of the input video. However, these deep CNN architectures are designed for single-label centered-positioned object classification. While they generate strong semantic features, they have no inherent structure allowing them to detect multiple objects of different sizes and locations in the frame. Our paper tries to solve this problem by integrating the base CNN into several fully convolutional neural networks (FCNs) to form a multi-scale network that handles multiple receptive field sizes in the original image. FCNs, previously applied to image segmentation, can generate class heat-maps efficiently compared to sliding window mechanisms, and can easily handle multiple scales. To further handle the ambiguity over multiple objects and locations, we incorporate the Multiple Instance Learning mechanism (MIL) to consider objects in different positions and at different scales simultaneously. We integrate our multi-scale multi-instance architecture with a sequence-to-sequence recurrent neural network to generate sentence descriptions based on the visual representation. Ours is the first end-to-end trainable architecture that is capable of multi-scale region processing. Evaluation on a Youtube video dataset shows the advantage of our approach compared to the original single-scale whole frame CNN model. Our flexible and efficient architecture can potentially be extended to support other video processing tasks.