Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Towards the Restoration of Public Trust in Electronic Governments: A Case Study of the E-Filing System in Singapore

E-governments are becoming part and parcel of the virtual economic landscape and are plagued by the same lack of consumer trust that inhibits e-commerce transactions. To make matters worse, the political exclusivity and apathetic bureaucracy of public institutions have amplified the level of difficulty in trying to convince the citizenries to come onboard e-government initiatives. In a preliminary attempt to derive possible developmental implications for the restoring of public trust in e-governments, this study explores the success story of the Singapore's Electronic Tax-Filing (e-Filing) system to reveal how trust-building mechanisms have been incorporated into its techno-structure to attract a phenomenal rate of public user acceptance. Specifically, the case examines the means by which process-based, characteristic-based and institution-based trust have been restored in the e-Filing system. This paper concludes by suggesting that the restoration of public trust can only be achieved through a blend of socio-political strategies and Information Technology.
The Influence of Foreign-born Population on Immigrant and Native-born Students’ Academic Achievement

With recent increases in international migration, some political and academic narratives argue for limiting migration because of possible negative effects on the host country. Among other outcomes, these groups argue that immigrant students have an impact on education, negatively affecting native-born students’ academic performance. The authors contextualize the relationship between immigrant status and academic achievement by considering a macro social setting: country-level foreign-born population. The authors examine achievement from the 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment in 41 high-income countries. The authors use within- and cross-level interactions to examine (1) the relationship between immigrant status and academic achievement, (2) the moderating effect of student socioeconomic status on achievement, and (3) how country-level foreign-born population affects both immigrant and native-born students’ performance. The findings indicate that immigrant students perform similarly to native-born students when considering other contextual factors, with socioeconomic status moderating the effect of immigrant status. Furthermore, all students, immigrant and nonimmigrant students alike, benefit academically from more immigration.
The exon 3-deleted growth hormone receptor is associated with better response to pegvisomant therapy in acromegaly.

CONTEXT The deletion of exon 3 in the GH receptor (GHR) has been associated with a different biochemical picture and response to therapy in acromegaly. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to determine whether or not the GHR genotype influences the efficacy of pegvisomant treatment. DESIGN AND SETTING A cross-sectional study was conducted in six Spanish university hospitals. PATIENTS Forty-four acromegalic patients with active disease and resistance to somatostatin analogs participated in the study. RESULTS The prevalence of the full-length GHR and the exon 3-deleted GHR homozygous and heterozygous genotypes was 41, 2, and 57%, respectively. There were no differences in IGF-I or GH pre-pegvisomant levels related to GHR genotype. The exon 3-deleted patients required approximately 20% lower doses of pegvisomant per kilogram of weight (28 +/- 11 compared to 22 +/- 7 mg per kg of weight; P = 0.033) to normalize IGF-I. A stepwise multivariate linear regression analysis (R(2) = 0.27; P = 0.003) identified male gender (beta = -0.79; P = 0.03) and d3-GHR genotype (beta = -0.64; P = 0.007) as the only significant predictors of the dose of pegvisomant per kilogram of weight. In addition, d3-GHR carriers required fewer months for IGF-I normalization (P < 0.01). A stepwise multivariate linear regression analysis (R(2) = 0.40; P = 0.001) revealed that the only significant predictor of the time to IGF-I normalization was the dose of pegvisomant per kilogram of weight (beta = 0.451; P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS The exon 3 deletion in the GHR predicts an improved response to pegvisomant therapy in acromegaly.
Prevalence of mental ill health, traumas and postmigration stress among refugees from Syria resettled in Sweden after 2011: a population-based survey

Objectives To estimate the prevalence of and associations between anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), low subjective well-being (SWB), potential traumas and postmigration stress among refugees from Syria resettled in Sweden. Design A cross-sectional and population-based questionnaire study based on a known and complete sample frame. The survey included multiple measures of mental ill health and factors of particular relevance for refugees. Weighted analyses were conducted to calculate representative prevalence rates and associations. Associations were investigated through a series of logistic regression analyses. All analyses were supplemented with robust 95% CIs. Setting Sweden. Participants A random sample of 1215 individuals (response rate 30.4%) from Syria aged 18–64 years that were granted residency in Sweden on grounds of asylum between 2011 and 2013. Main outcome measures Anxiety, depression, PTSD and low SWB were assessed through Hopkins Symptom Checklist, Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and WHO-5 Well-being Index, using established cut-offs. Results A majority of the participants met the criteria for at least one of the studied types of mental ill health, and the comorbidity was high. Depression was the most the common type with 40.2% (95% CI 36.9% to 43.3%), followed by low SWB with 37.7% (95% CI 34.8% to 40.1%), anxiety with 31.8% (95% CI 29.2% to 34.7%) and PTSD with 29.9% (95% CI 27.2% to 32.6%). Refugee-related potentially traumatic events (PTEs) experienced before or during migration was common as was substantial levels of postmigration stress. Most types of refugee-related PTEs, especially being exposed to interpersonal violence, and postmigration stress were associated with increased risks for anxiety, depression, low SWB and PTSD. Conclusions Mental ill health, in terms of anxiety, depression, low SWB and PTSD, are highly elevated and comorbid among refugees from Syria. Increased attention from multiple societal sectors to adequately support Syrian refugees’ mental health needs, promoting recovery and reducing postmigration stress are needed.
Heritability of short‐scale natal dispersal in a large‐scale foraging bird, the wandering albatross

Natal dispersal is a key life history trait for the evolution and adaptation of wild populations. Although its evolution has repeatedly been related to the social and environmental context faced by individuals, parent–offspring regressions have also highlighted a possible heritable component. In this study, we explore heritability of natal dispersal, at the scale of the sub‐Antarctic Possession Island, for a large‐scale foraging seabird, the Wandering albatross Diomedea exulans, exploiting a pedigree spanning over four decades and a maximum of four generations. The comparison of three different methods shows that heritability on the liability scale can vary drastically depending on the type of model (heritability from 6% to 86%), with a notable underestimation by restricted maximum likelihood animal models (6%) compared to Bayesian animal models (36%). In all cases, however, our results point to significant additive genetic variance in the individual propensity to disperse, after controlling for substantial effects of sex and natal colony. These results reveal promising evolutionary potential for short‐scale natal dispersal, which could play a critical role for the long‐term persistence of this species on the long run.
Safety, efficacy, and immunogenicity of 2 doses of bovine-human (UK) and rhesus-rhesus-human rotavirus reassortant tetravalent vaccines in Finnish children.

BACKGROUND Live oral rhesus-rhesus-human rotavirus reassortant tetravalent (RRV-TV) vaccine was efficacious against rotavirus gastroenteritis but was withdrawn because of a rare association with intussusception. A corresponding tetravalent (types G1, G2, G3, and G4) reassortant vaccine based on bovine-human (UK) rotavirus reassortant tetravalent (BRV-TV) vaccine was developed concurrently. METHODS Before the withdrawal of RRV-TV vaccine, parallel placebo-controlled trials of BRV-TV vaccine (observer blinded) versus RRV-TV vaccine (double blinded) with a 2 : 1 ratio of vaccine : placebo were conducted in Finland in a total of 510 infants. Two doses of study vaccine or placebo were administered at ages 3 and 5 months. RESULTS The first dose of RRV-TV vaccine was followed by a significant excess rate of febrile reactions (36%), whereas the rate of fever after the administration of BRV-TV vaccine did not differ significantly from that in the placebo group. Neither vaccine induced diarrhea. A seroresponse was detected in 97% of BRV-TV vaccine recipients and 94% of RRV-TV vaccine recipients. Both vaccines were equally effective, with 68%-69% efficacy against any and 88%-100% efficacy against severe rotavirus gastroenteritis during the first epidemic season. CONCLUSIONS BRV-TV vaccine is a promising new candidate rotavirus vaccine, with low reactogenicity and high efficacy. Two doses of BRV-TV or RRV-TV vaccine are sufficient for the induction of protection against severe rotavirus disease.
Metal concentrations in tissues of the Black Sea fish Mugil auratus from Sinop-Icliman, Turkey

Levels of five heavy metals [copper (Cu), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni)] were evaluated in liver and muscle tissues of fish (Mugil auratus) collected from the Black Sea at Sinop-Icliman, Turkey. Sampling and analysis methods are described. Variations of heavy metal concentrations with seasons are discussed. Cr and Ni concentrations were below the limits of detection (<0.05 and 0.1 ug/g dry weight) in all tissues and seasons. Cu, Pb and Cd were detected within these limits, as mg/kg dry weight, in liver tissue: 0.49-1.30, 0.60-1.21 and 0.15-0.50, and in muscle tissue: 0.30-1.00, 0.57-1.12 and 0.10-0.40, respectively. Cu, Pb and Cd concentrations in these tissues were elevated and the highest heavy metal concentrations were found in the liver. While Cu, Pb and Cd concentrations were highest in fish tissues collected in August 2000, the lowest concentrations of these metals were observed in fish tissues collected in May 2000. Pb had the highest level observed in fish tissues. According to the Turkish Food Codex Regulation's residue limits, the cadmium level determined in fish tissues was high (0.1 mg/g) and the lead level, especially in liver tissue, was high in August (1 mg/ g), while other metals (Cu, Cr and Ni) were within the maximum residue limits.
Children with chronic illnesses: factors influencing family hardiness*

The current study assessed factors related to family hardiness in families of children coping with medical procedures related to a chronic illness. Participants were 68 parents of children with chronic illnesses, who were receiving complex medical treatment at a local hospital. Parents completed a scale assessing family hardiness and a semi-structured interview assessing their positive and negative coping strategies and those of their child. A linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between several predictors, including child age, number of medical conditions for the child, family income, number of positive and negative parent and child coping strategies, and family hardiness (outcome variable). Results indicated that parents of older children and children who exhibited negative coping strategies reported lower family hardiness. Older children may have had their chronic illness for a longer period of time, which could be wearing for the children and their families. Results of this study suggested that negative child coping may have deleterious effects on the family, and nurses and other health professionals should provide ideas for positive child coping and consider collaboration with mental health providers when they identify children facing emotional problems.
Increased Intracellular Pro- and Anti-inflammatory Cytokines in Bronchoalveolar Lavage T cells of Stable Lung Transplant Patients

Background. Allograft rejection remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality following lung transplantation and is associated with an increased expression of T-cell proinflammatory cytokines. We have recently shown that peripheral blood T-cell proinflammatory cytokine production was significantly reduced in stable lung transplant patients consistent with immunosuppression therapy. However, analysis of inflammatory cytokine profiles in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) T cells may be more relevant than peripheral blood T cells for assessing graft status. Methods. To investigate the immunomodulatory effects of currently used immunosuppressive regimens on BAL T-cell cytokine production, whole blood and BAL from stable lung transplant patients and control volunteers was stimulated in vitro and cytokine production by CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell subsets determined using multiparameter flow cytometry. Results. There was a significant decrease in T-cell proinflammatory cytokine production in BAL compared with blood from control subjects but not transplant patients. Anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-4 was increased in BAL compared with blood from both groups. There was a significant increase in IFNγ, IL-2, IL-4, TGFβ, and TNFα production by CD8 T cells and IFNγ and TNFα production by CD4 T cells in BAL from transplant patients compared with controls. Conclusions. We have shown decreased T-cell pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine production in BAL compared with blood in control subjects but not in stable lung transplant patients. Current immunosuppression protocols have limited effect on T-cell proinflammatory cytokine production in BAL but do upregulate anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4 and TGFβ. Drugs that effectively reduce T-cell proinflammatory cytokine production in BAL may improve current protocols for reducing graft rejection in these patients.
Age-adapted saliency model with depth bias

Visual attention studies in computer vision research have focused on the development of computational attention systems that can detect salient regions in images for adults. Consequently, age differences in scene viewing behavior has rarely been considered. This study quantitatively analyzed the age-related differences in gaze landings during scene viewing for three age groups: children, adults, and elderly. An interesting observation from our analysis is that whereas child observers focus more on the scene foreground, i.e., locations that are near, elderly observers tend to explore the scene background, i.e., locations farther in the scene. Considering this result a framework is proposed in this paper to quantitatively measure the depth bias tendency across age groups. Further, the age impact on exploratory behavior, central bias tendency, and agreement between explored regions within and across the age groups are quantified via analysis. Experimental results show that children exhibit the lowest exploratory behavior level but the highest central bias tendency among the age groups. Further, agreement scores reveal that adults had least agreement with each other in explored regions. The data analysis results were consequently leveraged to develop a more accurate age-adapted saliency model that outperforms existing saliency models that do not consider age.
Identification of Teleost Skin CD8α+ Dendritic-like Cells, Representing a Potential Common Ancestor for Mammalian Cross-Presenting Dendritic Cells

Although fish constitute the most ancient animal group in which an acquired immune system is present, the presence of dendritic cells (DCs) in teleosts has been addressed only briefly, and the identification of a specific DC subset in teleosts remained elusive because of the lack of specific Abs. In mice, DCs expressing CD8α+ in lymphoid tissues have the capacity to cross-present extracellular Ags to T cells through MHC I, similarly to tissue-derived CD103+ DCs and the human CD141+ DC population. In the current study, we identified a large and highly complex subpopulation of leukocytes coexpressing MHC class II and CD8α. This CD8α+ MHC II+ DC-like subpopulation constituted ∼1.2% of the total leukocyte population in the skin, showing phenotypical and functional characteristics of semimature DCs that seem to locally regulate mucosal immunity and tolerance in a species lacking lymph nodes. Furthermore, we identified trout homologs for CD141 and CD103 and demonstrated that, in trout, this skin CD8+ DC-like subpopulation expresses both markers. To our knowledge, these results provide the first evidence of a specific DC-like subtype in nonimmune tissue in teleosts and support the hypothesis of a common origin for all mammalian cross-presenting DCs.
Multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry is a powerful tool to study glycerolipid composition in plants with different level of desaturase activity

In plants, two lipid desaturation pathways exist. A so-called prokaryotic pathway is active in plastids and responsible for unsaturation of 16 carbon fatty acids. An eukaryotic one, in the endoplasmic reticulum, acts on 18 carbon fatty acids. Desaturase activities are affected in stressed plants, and conversely, they have an impact on the capability of plants to adapt to stress. So knowing lipid unsaturation is important for physiological studies. Analysis of lipids by mass spectrometry, in the multiple reaction mode, gives access to the molecular species present in each membrane lipid class. We illustrate the powerfulness of this technique by applying it to phospholipids and galactolipids extracted from plants where the desaturation pathways are present at variable level.
The Mef 2 c gene is a direct transcriptional target of myogenic bHLH and MEF 2 proteins during skeletal muscle development

The formation of skeletal muscle during embryogenesis involves a multi-step developmental program in which mesodermal progenitors become committed to a skeletal muscle fate and then propagate and migrate to specific destinations before differentiating to form myofibers (Hauschka, 1994). Skeletal muscle development is controlled by the MyoD and myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) families of transcription factors, which interact to establish a unique transcriptional code for activation of skeletal muscle-specific genes (Molkentin and Olson, 1996). Members of the MyoD family – MyoD, myogenin, Myf5 and MRF4 – are expressed exclusively in the skeletal muscle lineage and can each activate the complete muscle differentiation program in transfected fibroblasts (Davis et al., 1987; Braun et al., 1989; Edmondson and Olson, 1989; Rhodes and Konieczny, 1989). During embryogenesis, MyoDand Myf5are expressed in distinct early populations of skeletal muscle precursor cells in the somites (Ott et al., 1991; Smith et al., 1994). Mice that lack either MyoD or Myf5 are able to form skeletal muscle (Rudnicki et al., 1992; Braun et al., 1992), whereas mice lacking both genes fail to form any trace of the skeletal muscle lineage (Rudnicki et al., 1993), consistent with the notion that these genes play overlapping roles in myoblast specification. Myogenin is expressed as myoblasts enter the differentiation pathway and is required for muscle differentiation (Hasty et al., 1993; Nabeshima et al., 1993). Mrf4 is expressed transiently during early myogenesis and in differentiated muscle fibers (Hinterberger et al., 1991); its functions appear to overlap with those of MyoDin the muscle differentiation pathway (Rawls et al., 1998). Members of the MyoD family share homology in a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) region that mediates dimerization and binding to the E-box consensus sequence (CANNTG), which is found in the control regions of many muscle-specific genes (Olson and Klein, 1994). The bHLH region also associates with MEF2 transcription factors, which lack myogenic activity alone, but potentiate the muscle-inducing activity of myogenic bHLH proteins and are required for the activation of muscle differentiation genes (Molkentin et al., 1995). The four vertebrate MEF2 factors – MEF2A, MEF2B, MEF2C and MEF2D – belong to the MADS (MCM1, agamous, deficiens, SRF) family of transcription factors (Black and Olson, 1998). The MADS domain mediates dimerization, association with myogenic bHLH proteins, and binding to an A/T-rich DNA sequence associated with muscle-specific genes (Gossett et al., 1989; Pollock and Treisman, 1991). In contrast to the skeletal muscle specificity of myogenic bHLH factors, MEF2 factors are expressed in skeletal, cardiac 4623 Development 128, 4623-4633 (2001) Printed in Great Britain © The Company of Biologists Limited 2001 DEV3504
Medical Conditions, Family History of Cancer, and the Risk of Biliary Tract Cancers

Background Scanty data exist on the role of personal medical conditions, except for gallstones, and family history of cancer on the risk of biliary tract cancers (BTC). Methods We analyzed this issue using data from two Italian case-control studies, including 159 cases of BTC and 795 matched hospital controls. Odds ratios (ORs) of BTC and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using multiple logistic regression models. Results Gallstones were associated with a 2-fold excess risk of BTC (95% CI 1.24-3.45). No significant associations were observed with other conditions investigated, including diabetes (OR 1.15, 95% CI 0.63-2.11), hypertension (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.39-1.11), hyperlipidemia (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.31-1.21), allergy (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.29-1.40), gastroduodenal ulcer (OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.24-1.12), hepatitis (OR 2.02, 95% CI 0.35-11.67), benign thyroid diseases (OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.56-2.40), hysterectomy (OR 1.19, 95% CI 0.53-2.68), unilateral oophorectomy (OR 1.75, 95% CI 0.44-6.93), and bilateral oophorectomy (OR 2.48, 95% CI 0.79-7.82). We found an excess risk of BTC in relation to family history of any cancer (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.03-2.24) and family history of gallbladder cancer (OR 3.83, 95% CI 0.59-24.75). Conclusions The present study confirms a strong association between BTC and history of gallstones, and provides further evidence of a positive association with family history of cancer.
Global reserve currencies from the perspective of structural global justice: distribution and domination

ABSTRACT This paper discusses global reserve currencies from the perspective of structural global justice. Drawing on notions of structural justice and background justice, it suggests that the structures of global finance, by creating positions of privilege and disadvantage, can lead to injustices both with regard to distributive outcomes and with regard to domination. While the role of the dollar and Euro as global reserve currencies is not the only factor that contributes to these structural injustices, they need to be taken into account to fully grasp the dynamics of global finance. They also have an impact on other mechanisms, such as sovereign debt, capital flows, and the governance of international financial institutions. The paper’s arguments support the claim that one cannot conceptualize global justice as justice between independent states. Rather, the global monetary regime constitutes a case of ‘background injustice’.