Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Social Forums and their Margins: Networking Logics and the Cultural Politics of Autonomous Space *

The World Social Forum (WSF) emerged in the wake of a global wave of protest against capitalism characterized, in part, by the expression of broader political ideals through network-based organizational forms. The WSF was thus conceived as an “open space” for exchanging ideas, resources, and information; promoting initiatives; and generating concrete alternatives. At the same time, many grassroots activists have criticized the forums for being organized in a top-down fashion, including political parties despite their formal prohibition, and favoring prominent intellectuals. Radicals thus face a continual dilemma: participate in the forums as a way to reach a broader public, or remain outside given their political differences? Based on my participation as activist and ethnographer with the (-ex) Movement for Global Resistance (MRG) in Barcelona and Peoples Global Action (PGA), this article explores the cultural politics of autonomous space at the margins of the world and regional social forums on three levels. Empirically, it provides an ethno-genealogy of the emergence, diffusion, and proliferation of the concept of autonomous space. Theoretically, it argues that the cultural politics of autonomous space express the broader networking logics and politics increasingly inscribed into emerging organizational architectures. Politically, it suggests that the proliferation of autonomous spaces represents a promising model for rethinking the Forum as an innovative network-based organizational form.
Simple algorithmic theory of subjective beauty, novelty, surprise, interestingness, attention, curiosity, creativity, art, science, music, jokes (特集 高次機能の学習と創発--脳・ロボット・人間研究における新たな展開)

In this summary of previous work, I argue that data becomes temporarily interesting by itself to some selfimproving, but computationally limited, subjective observer once he learns to predict or compress the data in a better way, thus making it subjectively more “beautiful. ” Curiosity is the desire to create or discover more non-random, non-arbitrary, “truly novel,” regular data that allows for compression progress because its regularity was not yet known. This drive maximizes “interestingness,” the first derivative of subjective beauty or compressibility, that is, the steepness of the learning curve. It motivates exploring infants, pure mathematicians, composers, artists, dancers, comedians, yourself, and recent artificial systems.
Physiological effects of botulinum toxin in spasticity

There is considerable evidence that injection of botulinum toxin (BTX) into muscles with spastic overactivity reduces resistance to passive movement in joints supplied by the injected muscles. The demonstration of improvement in active performance of the paretic limbs has been only anecdotal to date, and represents the most difficult challenge in research on BTX therapy in spastic paralysis. Data are reviewed that indicate several neurophysiological actions of BTX, other than the blocking of acetylcholine release at the neuromuscular ending: effects on the central nervous system, including retrograde axonal transport, reduced motoneuronal excitability, action on central synapses such as decreased Renshaw inhibition and increased presynaptic inhibition; action on gamma motoneuronal endings; action on most active terminals; spread of BTX to neighboring muscles; spread of BTX effects to remote muscles. Several of these neurophysiological actions are likely to contribute to improvement in active movements, as they may antagonize the primary mechanisms of functional impairment in patients with spastic paralysis: weakness, spastic cocontraction, spastic dystonia, and muscle shortening. We review the evidence for reduction of spastic cocontraction in both the injected muscle and its antagonist, and for improvement of antagonist weakness after BTX injection. The capacity of intramuscular BTX to reduce spastic dystonia and lengthen shortened muscles is also discussed based on prior literature. When injected into the more overactive of a pair of spastic antagonists around a joint, BTX should affect all the main mechanisms impairing active function around the joint. © 2004 Movement Disorder Society
Referential unionisms and globalization: A comparative study of workplace union dynamics

How do unions contend with change in the face of strong external pressures associated with globalization? Comparative workplace ethnographies point to the persistent diversity of local actor responses. This article advances the concept of referential unionisms to understand the adaptive processes at play. Focusing on the interactions between collective identities, repertoires of action, power resources, and representative and strategic capacity, it examines how two workplace unions in the manufacturing sector in France and in Canada cope with management strategies to meet their multinational company performance objectives through the restructuring of social and productive relations in their sites.
Unproductive Labor in the U.S. Economy 1964-2010 1

It is commonly proposed by those who accept the distinction between productive and unproductive labor that a rising proportion of unproductive labor constitutes a burden to the operation of a capitalist economy, because unproductive labor is paid out of surplus-value, leaving less available for accumulation. This paper evaluates recent attempts to estimate empirical trends in productive and unproductive labor in the U.S. economy since 1964. These attempts are flawed by a failure to distinguish between working class unproductive labor and the unproductive labor attributable to managers-plus-capitalists. This distinction is at the heart of the trends in the neoliberal era, and these trends suggest that the distinction between productive and unproductive labor is less empirically useful than a focus on class.
Monitoring of earnings management by independent directors and the impact of regulation: evidence from the People's Republic of China

Alarmed by escalating volatility in international financial markets and the uncovering of numerous accounting scandals, national regulators worldwide responded by introducing new regulations on corporate governance. To shed light on the debate over the merit of such regulations, this study examines the effectiveness of independent directors in constraining earnings management behaviour in the PRC around the time when the Chinese regulators issued a mandate requiring minimum representation of independent directors in listed firms. The results show that while board independence significantly reduces earnings management when adoption of independent directors is voluntary, a higher degree of board independence is not associated with lower earnings management when adoption of independent directors is made mandatory. This suggests that board independence could be effective in monitoring earnings management even in an institutional environment like that of the PRC, but regulation could distort conditions in the market of independent directors, which renders such governance mechanism ineffective.
Promotion of proinflammatory interactions between platelets and monocytes by unfractionated heparin

Objectives: To determine the in vitro effects of unfractionated heparin, fractionated heparin and direct thrombin inhibition on platelet–monocyte aggregation, and to establish the in vivo effects of unfractionated heparin and direct thrombin inhibition on platelet–monocyte aggregates in patients scheduled for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Design: Platelet–monocyte aggregates were assessed in whole blood from 18 healthy volunteers after the addition of unfractionated heparin (1 U/ml), enoxaparin (0.8 U/ml) or lepirudin (5.6 µg/ml), and in 28 patients scheduled for elective PCI before and after administration of 100 U/kg of unfractionated heparin or 0.75 mg/kg bivalirudin. The influence of P-selectin-mediated platelet–monocyte aggregation was assessed with specific blocking antibodies. Results: Addition of unfractionated heparin in vitro was associated with a higher level of platelet–monocyte aggregates than in controls (20.1 (1.9)% v 16.2 (1.6)%, respectively, p < 0.001). However, platelet–monocyte aggregation was not affected by enoxaparin or lepirudin (16.9 (2.0)% and 17.0 (2.2)%, respectively, NS). Intravenous unfractionated heparin in vivo also resulted in an increase in platelet–monocyte aggregates (absolute Δ 7.1 (2.7)%, p < 0.01), whereas intravenous bivalirudin had no effect (absolute Δ −1.5 (2.4)%, NS). The addition of P-selectin blockade abolished any increase in platelet–monocyte aggregates associated with heparin. Conclusions: In vitro and in vivo unfractionated heparin is associated with increased platelet–monocyte aggregation through a P-selectin-dependent mechanism. These findings provide a potential explanation for the superior cardiovascular outcomes associated with fractionated heparins and direct thrombin inhibitors.
Guidelines on CMV congenital infection

Abstract Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection occurs in 0.6–0.7% of all newborns and is the most prevalent infection-related cause of congenital neurological handicap. Vertical transmission occurs in around 30% of cases, but the fetus is not always affected. Symptomatic newborns at birth have a much higher risk of suffering severe neurological sequelae. Detection of specific IgG and IgM and IgG avidity seem to be the most reliable tests to identify a primary infection but interpretation in a clinical context may be difficult. If a seroconversion is documented or a fetal infection is suspected by ultrasound markers, an amniocentesis should be performed to confirm a vertical transmission. In the absence of a confirmed fetal infection with fetal structural anomalies, a pregnancy termination should be discouraged. Fetal prognosis is mainly correlated to the presence of brain damage. Despite promising results with the use of antiviral drugs and CMV hyperimmune globulin (HIG), results have to be interpreted with caution. Pregnant women should not be systematically tested for CMV during pregnancy. Managing CMV screening should be restricted to pregnancies where a primary infection is suspected or among women at high risk. The magnitude of congenital CMV disease and the value of interventions to prevent its transmission or to decrease the sequelae need to be established before implementing public health interventions. In this paper, aspects of CMV infection in the pregnant woman and her infant are reviewed.
Comparison of first- and second-generation prostheses for endoluminal repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms: a 6-year study with life table analysis.

PURPOSE The outcome of endoluminal repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms with two generations of prostheses was analyzed and compared. METHODS Between May 1992 and December 1998, 266 patients underwent elective endoluminal repair of an AAA. First-generation prostheses were used in 118 patients (group I), and second-generation prostheses were used in 148 patients (group II). The two groups were similar in age, sex, and size of AAA. The proportion of patients with comorbidities was higher in group I than in group II, but not significantly. First-generation devices were characterized by large (24F internal diameter) delivery systems, one-piece construction, and a lack of metallic support throughout their length. Second-generation devices had smaller (21F or smaller internal diameter) delivery systems, modular construction, and a metallic frame throughout the length of the prostheses. The major end-point criteria were survival and successful endoluminal repair. Success was defined as the exclusion of the aneurysm sac from the circulation, with stability or the reduction in AAA maximum transverse diameter. Persistent endoleaks were classified as failures, irrespective of whether they were subsequently corrected by means of secondary endovascular intervention. The minimum follow-up period was 5 months for each of the 266 patients. Analysis was performed by means of the life-table method. RESULTS Perioperative mortality was not significantly different between group I (4.2%) and group II (2.7%). There was a statistically significant difference between the survival curves of the two generations, which favored group II (P =.012). There was a significant (P <.001) difference between the two generations of patients in their conditional probability of graft failure when the competing risk of all-cause mortality was considered. Second-generation patients were at a lower risk of graft failure than first-generation patients. The probability of failure, expressed as a proportion of grafts failing at 2 years, was 0.15 for patients with second-generation prostheses and 0.33 for patients with first-generation prostheses. CONCLUSION Endoluminal AAA repair is a safe procedure, whether first- or second-generation prostheses are used. Survival and probability of graft success were significantly higher with second-generation prostheses than with first-generation prostheses. This improvement in outcome resulted from a combination of increasing clinical experience and advances in technology. A more accurate evaluation of the role of the endoluminal method in AAA repair would be achieved by studying patients in whom second-generation devices were used, rather than longer term studies in which first- and second-generation devices were used.
The impact of open market equity repurchases on UK equity prices

This paper presents the first empirical evidence regarding the share price impact of open market stock repurchases in the UK. The analysis reveals a positive reaction on the day of the announcement of the repurchase, consistent with the reaction found under very different circumstances in the US, and consistent with the expected reaction on the retirement of equity. The transactions are typically instigated by firms that are underperforming the market and tends to follow a short-term fall in the firm's share price. The reaction on the day of the repurchase is positively related to the percentage of equity transacted. There is no evidence that the return on the day of the announcement is affected by the characteristics of the repurchase.
Effect of alcohol on race-biased responding: the moderating role of internal and external motivations to respond without prejudice.

OBJECTIVE This experiment was a systematic examination of how drinking, available response time, and levels of internal and external motivations to respond without prejudice interact to affect responses in a behavioral assessment of the race bias of social drinkers. METHOD Ninety-one white undergraduate social drinkers (45 women) were randomly assigned within gender to alcohol (expect alcohol/receive alcohol), placebo (expect alcohol/receive placebo), or simple no-alcohol control (expect no alcohol/receive no alcohol) conditions. Participants then performed a sequential priming task, the Weapons Identification Task, designed to assess race-biased responding, under nonspeeded (2,000 ms) or speeded (500 ms) instructional sets. RESULTS Relative to both placebo and simple no-alcohol control groups, participants who consumed alcohol to an average peak breath alcohol concentration of . 08 exhibited higher rates of race-biased errors but only under speeded conditions. Further, this effect was moderated by individual differences such that alcohol-induced, race-biased errors were elevated among all participants, except those whose motives to respond without prejudice were primarily internal. Personal motivations to respond without prejudice also moderated the responses of participants in the placebo group, such that those restrained primarily by external concerns uniquely evinced more race-biased errors than participants in the other motive groups. CONCLUSIONS Both alcohol intoxication and alcohol expectancy can increase race-biased errors but only under speeded conditions and in a manner moderated by participants' levels of internal and external motives to respond without prejudice.
Erythromycin Fails to Improve Feeding Outcome in Feeding-Intolerant Preterm Infants

Objective Approximately half of extremely low birth weight infants have feeding intolerance, which delays their achievement of full enteral feedings. Erythromycin, a motilin receptor agonist, triggers migrating motor complexes and accelerates gastric emptying in adults with feeding intolerance. Few studies have assessed the efficacy of this drug in preterm infants with established feeding intolerance. This study was designed to assess the efficacy of erythromycin in feeding-intolerant infants, as measured by gastric emptying, maturation of gastrointestinal motor patterns, and time to achieve full enteral feedings. Methods Subjects were 27 preterm infants who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit and who did not achieve full enteral feeding volumes (150 mL/kg/day) within 8 days of the initiation of feedings. In a controlled, randomized, double-blinded clinical trial, infants received intragastric erythromycin or placebo for 8 days without crossover. At study entry, the authors recorded motor activity in the antrum and the duodenum during fasting, in response to intragastric erythromycin (1.5 mg/kg) or placebo, and in response to feeding. Gastric emptying at 20 minutes and transit time from duodenum to anus were determined. Each infant then received erythromycin or placebo for 8 days, and feeding characteristics were prospectively tracked. Results Gastric emptying and characteristics of antroduodenal motor contractions were similar in the two groups, as were the transit times from duodenum to anus. Feeding outcomes were comparable in the two groups. Conclusion Intragastric erythromycin does not improve feeding tolerance in preterm infants with established feeding intolerance because it fails to improve gastrointestinal function in the short or long term.
Single-Event Transient Response of Comparator Pre-Amplifiers in a Complementary SiGe Technology

The single-event transient (SET) response of the pre-amplification stage of two latched comparators designed using either <italic>npn</italic> or <italic>pnp</italic> silicon-germanium heterojunction bipolar transistors (SiGe HBTs) is investigated via two-photon absorption (TPA) carrier injection and mixed-mode TCAD simulations. Experimental data and TCAD simulations showed an improved SET response for the <italic>pnp</italic> comparator circuit. 2-D raster scans revealed that the devices in the <italic>pnp</italic> circuit exhibit a reduction in sensitive area of up to 80% compared to their <italic>npn</italic> counterparts. In addition, by sweeping the input voltage, the sensitive operating region with respect to SETs was determined. By establishing a figure-of-merit, relating the transient peaks and input voltage polarities, the <italic>pnp</italic> device was determined to have a 21.4% improved response with respect to input voltage. This study has shown that using <italic>pnp</italic> devices is an effective way to mitigate SETs, and could enable further radiation-hardening-by-design techniques.
Urinary 5-hydroxytryptophol following acute ethanol consumption: clinical evaluation and potential aviation applications.

HYPOTHESIS The unknown prevalence of alcohol use and misuse among aviation pilots, crewmembers and associated support personnel call for continuous improvement of methods for detecting recent alcohol use. Early detection is essential to proper treatment and prevention of potentially catastrophic mishaps. Urinary 5-hydroxytryptophol (5HTOL), a serotonin (5HT) metabolite, has shown promise in the clinical setting as a noninvasive marker of recent alcohol consumption. METHODS The urinary 5HTOL concentrations of 11 male and female subjects were followed for approximately 24 h following dosing with ethanol 0.6 g.kg-1. Concentrations were reported as a ratio of 5HTOL to 5-hydroxy-indoleacetic acid (5HIAA), 5HTOL/5HIAA (pmol/nmol), to compensate for urinary dilution and elevated 5HTOL levels due to dietary intake. Data from one male subject was excluded after he admitted to continued alcohol consumption subsequent to dosing and missing several urine samples. RESULTS 5HTOL/5HIAA ratios remained above the 15 pmol/nmol cutoff for recent alcohol use for approximately 11-16 h in all except one subject. Calculations based on body weight and administered alcohol dose suggest that measurable blood alcohol levels would exist for only 5-7 h post ingestion. CONCLUSION This study confirmed the extended elevation of 5HTOL/5HIAA ratios observed in earlier studies, even at the relatively low alcohol dose used herein. 5HTOL appears to be a marker for acute alcohol consumption worthy of further investigation by military and civilian authorities. Potential aviation applications of 5HTOL include validation of measurable blood alcohol concentrations, investigation of poor performance due to hangover effects, and as a forensic toxicology tool in aircraft accident investigations to distinguish between actual alcohol ingestion and post-mortem alcohol synthesis.
Molecular signatures of lineage‐specific adaptive evolution in a unique sea basin: the example of an anadromous goby Leucopsarion petersii

Climate changes on various time scales often shape genetic novelty and adaptive variation in many biotas. We explored molecular signatures of directional selection in populations of the ice goby Leucopsarion petersii inhabiting a unique sea basin, the Sea of Japan, where a wide variety of environments existed in the Pleistocene in relation to shifts in sea level by repeated glaciations. This species consisted of two historically allopatric lineages, the Japan Sea (JS) and Pacific Ocean (PO) lineages, and these have lived under contrasting marine environments that are expected to have imposed different selection regimes caused by past climatic and current oceanographic factors. We applied a limited genome‐scan approach using seven candidate genes for phenotypic differences between two lineages in combination with 100 anonymous microsatellite loci. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) gene, which is an important regulator of food intake and potent orexigenic agent, and three anonymous microsatellites were identified as robust outliers, that is, candidate loci potentially under directional selection, by multiple divergence‐ and diversity‐based outlier tests in comparisons focused on multiple populations of the JS vs. PO lineages. For these outlier loci, populations of the JS lineage had putative signals of selective sweeps. Additionally, real‐time quantitative PCR analysis using fish reared in a common environment showed a higher expression level for NPY gene in the JS lineage. Thus, this study succeeded in identifying candidate genomic regions under selection across populations of the JS lineage and provided evidence for lineage‐specific adaptive evolution in this unique sea basin.