Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Substance Use in Dance Sport

Very few studies have been conducted on substance use (SU) in performing sports. In the current study, we analyzed SU and factors related to SU in dance sport. The sample subjects consisted of 21 female and 22 male dancers, all >19 years of age, who were given an anonymous questionnaire developed for this study. The questionnaire consisted of questions about 1) social, cultural, educational, and sport-related factors, and 2) SU, including alcohol, opiates, cigarettes, and doping consumption, and personal opinions. The chi-square test was used to define the differences between male and female dancers. To identify the relationships between the studied factors and SU, the Pearson? s correlation coefficient was calculated separately in males and females. We found a relatively low incidence of cigarette smoking (<10%) and significant differences between males and females in opinions regarding doping issues. The level of the sport achievement in females and religiousness in male dancers was significantly related to SU. Although not frequent, the consumption of alcohol was more common in more successful and experienced dancers. The use of pain killers was related to age in female dancers (all at p < 0.05). Based on these results, we recommend educational programs regarding SU, especially about doping problems, in sport dance.
Education, Governance and Trade-Related Technology Diffusion in Latin America

This paper examines the impact on TFP of North-South trade-related technology diffusion in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). North-South RD and (ii) education and governance also raise TFP through their interaction with foreign R&D in R&D-intensive industries. These results imply a) that potential virtuous growth cycles exist both in the level and in the growth of TFP, and b) that taking into account the interaction effects between trade, education and governance by reforming the policies simultaneously will have a greater impact on TFP.
Explorer SNARE proteins are required for macroautophagy

General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact openaccess@ed.ac. uk providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. SUMMARY Macroautophagy mediates the degradation of long-lived proteins and organelles via the de novo formation of double-membrane autophagosomes that sequester cytoplasm and deliver it to the vacuole/lysosome; however, relatively little is known about autophagosome biogenesis. Atg8, a phosphatidylethanolamine-conjugated protein, was previously proposed to function in autophagosome membrane expansion, based on the observation that it mediates liposome tethering and hemifusion in vitro. We show here that with physiological concentrations of phosphatidylethanolamine, Atg8 does not act as a fusogen. Rather, we provide evidence for the involvement of exocytic Q/t-SNAREs in autophagosome formation, acting in the recruitment of key autophagy components to the site of autophagosome formation, and in regulating the organization of Atg9 into tubulovesicular clusters. Additionally, we found that the endosomal Q/t-SNARE Tlg2 and the R/v-SNAREs Sec22 and Ykt6 interact with Sso1-Sec9, and are required for normal Atg9 transport. Thus, multiple SNARE-mediated fusion events are likely to be involved in autophagosome biogenesis. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Summary sentence: SNARE proteins, but not Atg8/LC3–PE, are needed for fusion in autophagy.
Extensive de novo mutation rate variation between individuals and across the genome of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Describing the process of spontaneous mutation is fundamental for understanding the genetic basis of disease, the threat posed by declining population size in conservation biology, and in much evolutionary biology. However, directly studying spontaneous mutation is difficult because of the rarity of de novo mutations. Mutation accumulation (MA) experiments overcome this by allowing mutations to build up over many generations in the near absence of natural selection. In this study, we sequenced the genomes of 85 MA lines derived from six genetically diverse wild strains of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. We identified 6,843 spontaneous mutations, more than any other study of spontaneous mutation. We observed seven-fold variation in the mutation rate among strains and that mutator genotypes arose, increasing the mutation rate dramatically in some replicates. We also found evidence for fine-scale heterogeneity in the mutation rate, driven largely by the sequence flanking mutated sites, and by clusters of multiple mutations at closely linked sites. There was little evidence, however, for mutation rate heterogeneity between chromosomes or over large genomic regions of 200Kbp. Using logistic regression, we generated a predictive model of the mutability of sites based on their genomic properties, including local GC content, gene expression level and local sequence context. Our model accurately predicted the average mutation rate and natural levels of genetic diversity of sites across the genome. Notably, trinucleotides vary 17-fold in rate between the most mutable and least mutable sites. Our results uncover a rich heterogeneity in the process of spontaneous mutation both among individuals and across the genome.
Decentralized Governance and the Quality of School Leadership

In response to widespread dissatisfaction with the schools, the 1988 Chicago School Reform Act decentralized school governance by forming elected local school councils (LSCs) responsible for principal hiring, evaluation, and contract renewal as well as other management functions. Subsequent legislation outlined circumstances in which the district could reclaim authority from the LSC, thereby limiting local control. This paper investigates the distribution of principal effectiveness under a system in which there is uncertainty over the locus of decision-making authority. We first establish the presence of significant variation in principal effectiveness based on both an analysis of variance approach and the estimation of principal fixed effects. Teacher survey responses support the findings based on the principal fixed effects, though the much smaller magnitude of the analysis of variance estimates suggest that unobserved shocks inflate many existing estimates of the variance in principal effectiveness. We next consider potential differences in LSC behavior that contribute to the variation. Following Aghion and Tirole (1997) we develop a model that highlights the tensions between formal and real authority and incorporates potential differences in LSC capacity and incentives to maximize school quality. Using proxies for managerial capacity and incentives we find evidence largely consistent with the theory, showing that LSCs with higher management capacity and stronger incentives to raise school quality experience larger gains in principal effectiveness following the end of contracts.
A measure of contradiction based on the notion of N-weak-contradiction

In this work we elaborate on the notion of contradiction between fuzzy sets introduced by Trillas et al in a fuzzy logic context. Our approach is parametric in that the operator used to define contradiction is rather a variable than a constant introduced prior to the analysis of contradiction. We give several motivations to consider weaker operators than the usual involutive negations, and obtain some preliminary results which validate this proposal.
Automatic Domain Ontology Extraction for Context-Sensitive Opinion Mining

Automated analysis of the sentiments presented in online consumer feedbacks can facilitate both organizations’ business strategy development and individual consumers’ comparison shopping. Nevertheless, existing opinion mining methods either adopt a context-free sentiment classification approach or rely on a large number of manually annotated training examples to perform contextsensitive sentiment classification. Guided by the design science research methodology, we illustrate the design, development, and evaluation of a novel fuzzy domain ontology based contextsensitive opinion mining system. Our novel ontology extraction mechanism underpinned by a variant of Kullback-Leibler divergence can automatically acquire contextual sentiment knowledge across various product domains to improve the sentiment analysis processes. Evaluated based on a benchmark dataset and real consumer reviews collected from Amazon.com, our system shows remarkable performance improvement over the context-free baseline.
EQUITY MISPRICING , FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS , MARKET TIMING AND TARGETING BEHAVIOR OF COMPANIES

We test the market timing theory of capital structure using UK data by estimating intrinsic value of equities and find that the effect is statistically and economically significant. Managers increase debt (equity) issues during periods of undervaluation (overvaluation). We show that repurchasing behavior is equally influenced by equity mispricing. Financial constraints do affect timing behavior: Constrained firms are more sensitive to equity mispricing and the effect is evident particularly in repurchasing activities. Managers, thus, seem to time issues strategically out of necessity rather than being able to do so. Both timing of issues and repurchasing are influenced by reaching target leverage. The evidence suggests that managers are clearly aware of the cost of being off-target and weigh this against benefit gained from timing the market.
Oncostatin M Confers Neuroprotection against Ischemic Stroke

Cell-surface receptors provide potential targets for the translation of bench-side findings into therapeutic strategies; however, this approach for the treatment of stroke is disappointing, at least partially due to an incomplete understanding of the targeted factors. Previous studies of oncostatin M (OSM), a member of the gp130 cytokine family, have been limited, as mouse models alone may not strongly resemble the human condition enough. In addition, the precise function of OSM in the CNS remains unclear. Here, we report that human OSM is neuroprotective in vivo and in vitro by recruiting OSMRβ in the setting of ischemic stroke. Using gain- and loss-of-function approaches, we demonstrated that decreased neuronal OSMRβ expression results in deteriorated stroke outcomes but that OSMRβ overexpression in neurons is cerebroprotective. Moreover, administering recombinant human OSM to mice before the onset of I/R showed that human OSM can be protective in rodent models of ischemic stroke. Mechanistically, OSM/OSMRβ activate the JAK2/STAT3 prosurvival signaling pathway. Collectively, these data support that human OSM may represent a promising drug candidate for stroke treatment. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT OSM, a member of the gp130 cytokine family, regulates neuronal function and survival. OSM engages a second receptor, either LIFRα or OSMRβ, before recruiting gp130. However, it is not clear whether OSM/OSMRβ signaling is involved in neuroprotection in the setting of ischemic stroke. Recent studies show that, compared with mouse disease models, the OSM receptor system in rats more closely resembles that in humans. In the present study, we use genetic manipulations of OSMRβ in both mouse and rat stroke models to demonstrate that OSMRβ in neurons is critical for neuronal survival during cerebral ischemic/reperfusion. Interestingly, administration of human OSM also leads to improved stroke outcomes. Therefore, OSM may represent a promising drug candidate for stroke treatment.
Prevalence of tinnitus in patients with different temporomandibular disorders symptoms.

OBJECTIVE To compare the prevalence of tinnitus in temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients affected by either jaw muscle pain, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) internal derangements, or TMJ arthrosis. METHODS The presence of self-reported tinnitus was assessed in 250 consecutive TMD patients and correlation analysis was performed with clinical TMD signs and symptoms. RESULTS Tinnitus prevalence in the TMD population was 30.4%. Any significant patterns of correlation were shown for the overall study group, despite a higher tinnitus prevalence in patients with (32.8%) than without masseter pain (24.8%; p = 0.176) as well as in those with (33.7%) than without TMJ arthrosis (26.1%; p = 0.082). Age-stratified analysis showed correlations with masseter pain in older patients (48.3% vs 16; p < 0.05), and with arthrosis in younger patients (57.1% vs 22.2%; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Any correlation patterns were shown between tinnitus and TMD. Age-stratified analysis suggested possible hypotheses for a symptom-specific clinical correlation that should be assessed with future research.
Heartbeat detection and the experience of emotions

Although many theories of emotion hypothesise a crucial role for the self-perception of visceral activity, there has been little empirical investigation of the relationship between visceral self-perception and emotion. In this study, 52 undergraduates (19 males, 33 females) performed a heartbeat detection task and were classified as good (n=9) or poor (n=43) heartbeat detectors. Subjects were then presented with sets of two film clips, each targeting one of three different emotional valences (amusement, anger, fear). Subjects reported their affective responses to the clips on 9-point scales indicating intensity and pleasantness. Good detectors reported more intense emotions than poor detectors across all three emotional valences, but no differences were found on pleasantness ratings between the groups. These results suggest that visceral perception plays a role in the experience of the intensity of emotions.
Compensation for Variable Intrinsic Neuronal Excitability by Circuit-Synaptic Interactions

Recent theoretical and experimental work indicates that neurons tune themselves to maintain target levels of excitation by modulating ion channel expression and synaptic strengths. As a result, functionally equivalent circuits can produce similar activity despite disparate underlying network and cellular properties. To experimentally test the extent to which synaptic and intrinsic conductances can produce target activity in the presence of variability in neuronal intrinsic properties, we used the dynamic clamp to create hybrid two-cell circuits built from four types of stomatogastric neurons coupled to the same model Morris–Lecar neuron by reciprocal inhibition. We measured six intrinsic properties (input resistance, minimum membrane potential, firing rate in response to +1 nA of injected current, slope of the frequency–current curve, spike height, and spike voltage threshold) of dorsal gastric, gastric mill, lateral pyloric, and pyloric dilator neurons from male crabs of the species Cancer borealis. The intrinsic properties varied twofold to sevenfold in each cell type. We coupled each biological neuron to the Morris–Lecar model with seven different values of inhibitory synaptic conductance and also used the dynamic clamp to add seven different values of an artificial h-conductance, thus creating 49 different circuits for each biological neuron. Despite the variability in intrinsic excitability, networks formed from each neuron produced similar circuit performance at some values of synaptic and h-conductances. This work experimentally confirms results from previous modeling studies; tuning synaptic and intrinsic conductances can yield similar circuit outputs from neurons with variable intrinsic excitability.
Performance evaluation of MAC protocols for cooperative MIMO transmissions in sensor networks

Cooperative Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) schemes can reduce both transmission energy and latency in distributed wireless sensor networks (WSNs). In this paper we develop a new cooperative low power listening (LPL) Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol for two cooperative MIMO schemes: optimal Beamforming (BF) and Spatial Multiplexing (SM). We develop analytical models for the total energy consumption and retransmission rates for both schemes and analyse the proposed MAC protocol in term of total energy consumption. The impact of the check interval and the number of cooperative transmitting nodes, M and cooperative receiving nodes N on the total energy consumption are investigated. We show that the new cooperative MAC with the optimal Beamforming scheme outperforms the other cooperative and SISO schemes in term of total energy consumption with the number of cooperating nodes set to M=2.
Autonomy and Reliability of Continuous Active Learning for Technology-Assisted Review

We enhance the autonomy of the continuous active learning method shown by Cormack and Grossman (SIGIR 2014) to be effective for technology-assisted review, in which documents from a collection are retrieved and reviewed, using relevance feedback, until substantially all of the relevant documents have been reviewed. Autonomy is enhanced through the elimination of topic-specific and dataset-specific tuning parameters, so that the sole input required by the user is, at the outset, a short query, topic description, or single relevant document; and, throughout the review, ongoing relevance assessments of the retrieved documents. We show that our enhancements consistently yield superior results to Cormack and Grossman's version of continuous active learning, and other methods, not only on average, but on the vast majority of topics from four separate sets of tasks: the legal datasets examined by Cormack and Grossman, the Reuters RCV1-v2 subject categories, the TREC 6 AdHoc task, and the construction of the TREC 2002 filtering test collection.
Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma in Asians

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma describes a heterogeneous group of neoplasms of skin homing T cells that vary considerably in clinical presentation, histologic appearance, immunophenotype, and prognosis. This paper addresses the cutaneous T-cell lymphoma in Asians with respect to clinical-epidemiologic and histopathological features. Compared with Western countries, Asia usually has higher rates of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas such as extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, hydroa vacciniforme-like lymphoma, subcutaneous panniculitis T-cell lymphoma, and adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma and lower rates of cutaneous B-cell lymphomas. Among many variants of mycosis fungoides, hypopigmented lesions, pityriasis lichenoides-like lesions, and ichthyosiform lesions are more prevalent in Asia than in the West. Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma is endemic in southwestern Japan especially in the Kyushu island. The clinicopathologic characteristics of cutaneous lymphoma vary according to geography, and this may be ascribed to genetic and environmental etiologic factors.
Automatic Face Recognition Using Stereo Images

Face recognition is an important pattern recognition problem in the study of natural and artificial learning systems. In typical optical image based face recognition systems, the systematic variability that arises from representing the three dimensional (3D) shape of a face by a two dimensional (2D) illumination intensity matrix is treated as a random variable, and it is obtained by collecting examples of faces in different poses with respect to the camera. More sophisticated 3D recognition systems employ specialist equipment (e.g. laser scanners) to measure the shape of the face, and they perform either pattern matching in three dimensions or they use projections from 3D models to match against 2D images. It is shown here that optical images obtained with a pair of stereo cameras may be used to extract depth information in the form of disparity values, and thereby significantly enhance the performance of a face recognition system
Input and Technology Choices in Regulated Industries: Evidence from the Health Care Sector

This paper examines the implications of regulatory change for input mix and technology choices of regulated industries. We study the increase in the relative price of labor faced by U.S. hospitals that resulted from the move from full cost to partial cost reimbursement under the Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS) reform. Using the interaction of hospitals’ pre‐PPS Medicare share of patient days with the introduction of PPS, we document substantial increases in capital‐labor ratios and declines in labor inputs following PPS. Most interestingly, we find that PPS seems to have encouraged the adoption of a range of new medical technologies.
Depression and coping styles

The focus of this study is to test several hypotheses derived from Nolen-Hoeksema's response style model to account for gender differences in depression. This model posits two basic response styles to cope with depression which are rumination and distraction. These response styles, along with two others, were assessed by a guestionnaire which also included four indices of depression. A Pearson product-moment correlation was performed as were four multiple regressions. The findings provided little support for Nolen-Hoeksema•s model, because no gender differences were found on any of the depression indices. Women were found to use rumination significantly more than men, whereas men used significantly more drug use in response to depression. Only four of the sixteen intercorrelations between the indices of depression and coping style were significant. Increased distraction and rumination were associated with decreased current depression. Also found was a positive correlation between the ruminative and distractive coping styles.