Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
E-Government in Brazil: Reinforcing Dominant Institutions or Reducing Citizenship?

In the 1990s, in both the developed and developing countries, there was an emphasis on citizens’ orientation regarding information technology policy. However, with new reform strategies employed in the public sector through the rhetoric of New Public Management, based on techniques from private management models as part of the global terminology of good management, it soon became clear that citizens’ orientation implies that citizens acquire the role of consumers or clients – recipients dependent on benefits provided by the welfare state. This dependency is evident when people are ABSTRACT
The nurse's workload in care situations.

AIM The aim of this study was to describe the nurse's workload in care situations and on different work shifts on surgical and medical wards. Changes in heart rate, shoulder-neck muscle tension and perceived exertion were measured in these care situations. DESIGN Nurses' physical fitness was tested using a clinical exercise test. RESULTS Transportation of a patient to the operating theatre was the most strenuous care situation on morning and evening shifts. Primary care, and situations related to practical nursing procedures were the second most strenuous situations regardless of the shift. Workload in primary care situations and in transporting the patient can be classified as medium heavy based on heart rate and relative workload, whereas in other situations it can be classified on average as moderate or light. The nurse's good physical fitness was reflected in relative workload in care situations so that in primary care and practical nursing procedures there was a statistically significant difference between those who scored high on a fitness test and those who scored low. Transferring tasks and practical nursing procedures involved more shoulder-neck muscle tension than other care situations.
Effects of spatial smoothing on functional brain networks

Graph‐theoretical methods have rapidly become a standard tool in studies of the structure and function of the human brain. Whereas the structural connectome can be fairly straightforwardly mapped onto a complex network, there are more degrees of freedom in constructing networks that represent functional connections between brain areas. For functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, such networks are typically built by aggregating the blood‐oxygen‐level dependent signal time series of voxels into larger entities (such as Regions of Interest in some brain atlas) and determining their connection strengths from some measure of time‐series correlations. Although it is evident that the outcome must be affected by how the voxel‐level time series are treated at the preprocessing stage, there is a lack of systematic studies of the effects of preprocessing on network structure. Here, we focus on the effects of spatial smoothing, a standard preprocessing method for fMRI. We apply various levels of spatial smoothing to resting‐state fMRI data and measure the changes induced in functional networks. We show that the level of spatial smoothing clearly affects the degrees and other centrality measures of functional network nodes; these changes are non‐uniform, systematic, and depend on the geometry of the brain. The composition of the largest connected network component is also affected in a way that artificially increases the similarity of the networks of different subjects. Our conclusion is that wherever possible, spatial smoothing should be avoided when preprocessing fMRI data for network analysis.
Equilibrium High Frequency Trading

Algorithms enable investors to locate trading opportunities, which raises gains from trade. Algorithmic traders can also process information on stock values before slow traders, which generates adverse selection. We model trading in this context and show that, for a given level of algorithmic trading, multiple equilibria can arise, some of which generate market exclusion for slow traders and sharp increases in the price impact of trades. We offer a theoretical interpretation for the "flash-crash" of may 2010. Next, we analyze the equilibrium level of investment in algorithmic trading. Because when others become fast it increases adverse selection costs for slow investors, algo-trading generates negative externalities. Therefore the equilibrium level of algo-trading exceeds its utilitarian welfare maximizing counterpart. Furthermore, since it involves fixed costs, investment in algorithmic trading is more pro table for large institutions than for small ones. This generates equilibrium informational asymmetries between large fast traders and small slow traders.
Social Classification - Need For Constant Updating

Socio-economic status influences the health of individuals and also the utilization of available health facilities. Of several available parameters, such as income, occupation, education, religion, caste, place of residence etc., the per capita monthly income has been the basis of the Prasadâ€™s social classifications which is most commonly used in Indian studies. With inflationary trends of the economy this classification needs constant revision. An attempt has been made to link it with the all India consumer price index (AICPI) and a modified classification has been proposed with a built â€“ in provision of its upgrading from time to keep it relevant and useful.
Photolysis of caged cyclic AMP in the ciliary cytoplasm of the newt olfactory receptor cell

The effects of cyclic nucleotide monophosphate (cNMP) in the ciliary cytoplasm of the olfactory receptor cell were examined by using photolysis of caged cNMP loaded from the whole‐cell patch clamp pipette. Illumination of the cilia induced an inward current at −50 mV. The current amplitude was voltage dependent and the polarity was reversed at +10 mV. The amplitude of the light‐induced current was dependent on both light intensity and duration. The intensity‐response relation was fitted well by the Hill equation with a coefficient (nH) of 4.99 ± 2.66 (mean ±s.d., n= 19) and the duration‐response relation with a coefficient of 4.03 ± 1.43 (n= 17). The activation time course of adenylyl cyclase was estimated by comparing the light‐induced response with the odorant‐induced response. Adenylyl cyclase was activated approximately 260 ms later from the onset of the odorant‐stimulation. The light‐induced current developed very sharply. This could be explained by the sequential openings of cAMP‐gated and Ca2+‐activated Cl− channels. At +100 mV, where Ca2+ influx is expected to be very small, the current rising phase became less steep. When the cells were stimulated by long steps of either odour or light, the odorant‐induced current showed stronger decay than the light‐induced response. This observation suggests that the molecular system regulating desensitization is situated upstream of cAMP production.
Parental Influences on Adolescent Video Game Play: A Study of Accessibility, Rules, Limit Setting, Monitoring, and Cybersafety

Adolescents' video gaming is increasing at a rapid rate. Yet, little is known about what factors contribute toward more hours of gaming per week, as well as what factors may limit or protect adolescents from excessive gaming. The aim of the present study was to examine associations between adolescents' accessibility to video gaming devices, the locations played (i.e., bedroom, shared rooms), parental regulation of technology use, and the amount of hours spent video gaming during the week (weekdays vs. weekends). Adolescents (N=422; age 16.3±2.0 years, 41% male) completed an online questionnaire battery, including demographics, video gaming behaviors (e.g., hours played weekdays/weekends, time of day played, devices owned, locations played, etc.), and a questionnaire measuring aspects of parents' regulation of game playing (e.g., rules, limit setting, co-gaming). Accessibility to the adolescents' own devices, but not shared devices or device portability, was predictive of hours gaming on weekdays and weekends. Location (i.e., bedroom) was associated with increased gaming across the week. Parents discussing cybersafety was predictive of lower hours of gaming (weekdays and weekends). However, limit setting, monitoring, and co-gaming showed no significant effects. Adolescents' access to their own gaming equipped devices, as well as gaming in their bedrooms, were linked to increased hours of gaming. The findings suggest that in order to curb the increase in hours gaming, parents are advised to delay the ownership of adolescents' devices, encourage use in shared rooms, and discuss aspects of cybersafety with their teenage children.
Mutational analysis of a ras catalytic domain

We used linker insertion-deletion mutagenesis to study the catalytic domain of the Harvey murine sarcoma virus v-rasH transforming protein, which is closely related to the cellular rasH protein. The mutants displayed a wide range of in vitro biological activity, from those that induced focal transformation of NIH 3T3 cells with approximately the same efficiency as the wild-type v-rasH gene to those that failed to induce any detectable morphologic changes. Correlation of transforming activity with the location of the mutations enabled us to identify three nonoverlapping segments within the catalytic domain that were dispensable for transformation and six other segments that were required for transformation. Segments that were necessary for guanosine nucleotide (GDP) binding corresponded to three of the segments that were essential for transformation; two of the three segments share strong sequence homology with other purine nucleotide-binding proteins. Loss of GDP binding was associated with apparent instability of the protein. Lesions in two of the three other required regions significantly reduced GDP binding, while small lesions in the last required region did not impair GDP binding or membrane localization. We speculate that this latter region interacts with the putative cellular target of ras. The results suggest that transforming ras proteins require membrane localization, guanosine nucleotide binding, and an additional undefined function that may represent interaction with their target.
Sea-ice free Arctic contributes to the projected warming minimum in the North Atlantic

Projected global warming is not spatially uniform and one of the minima in warming occurs in the North Atlantic (NA). Several models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 even projected a slight NA cooling in 2081–2100 relative to 1986–2005. Here we show that, by our simulations performed with the Bergen Climate Model (BCM), an autumn (September to November) sea-ice free Arctic (SIF) contributes to the NA warming minimum by weakening the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The role of the air–sea interaction in the response to the SIF, which has not been widely discussed in the literature, has been highlighted by the results presented in this study.
Rapid peptide-based screening on the substrate specificity of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus 3C-like protease by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS‐CoV) 3C‐like protease (3CLpro) mediates extensive proteolytic processing of replicase polyproteins, and is considered a promising target for anti‐SARS drug development. Here we present a rapid and high‐throughput screening method to study the substrate specificity of SARS‐CoV 3CLpro. Six target amino acid positions flanking the SARS‐CoV 3CLpro cleavage site were investigated. Each batch of mixed peptide substrates with defined amino acid substitutions at the target amino acid position was synthesized via the “cartridge replacement” approach and was subjected to enzymatic cleavage by recombinant SARS‐CoV 3CLpro. Susceptibility of each peptide substrate to SARS‐CoV 3CLpro cleavage was monitored simultaneously by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF MS). The hydrophobic pocket in the P2 position at the protease cleavage site is crucial to SARS‐CoV 3CLpro‐specific binding, which is limited to substitution by hydrophobic residue. The binding interface of SARS‐CoV 3CLpro that is facing the P1′ position is suggested to be occupied by acidic amino acids, thus the P1′ position is intolerant to acidic residue substitution, owing to electrostatic repulsion. Steric hindrance caused by some bulky or β‐branching amino acids in P3 and P2′ positions may also hinder the binding of SARS‐CoV 3CLpro. This study generates a comprehensive overview of SARS‐CoV 3CLpro substrate specificity, which serves as the design basis of synthetic peptide‐based SARS‐CoV 3CLpro inhibitors. Our experimental approach is believed to be widely applicable for investigating the substrate specificity of other proteases in a rapid and high‐throughput manner that is compatible for future automated analysis.
Apomorphine Infusion and the Long-Duration Response to Levodopa in Advanced Parkinson's Disease

The authors investigated the long-duration response to levodopa in advanced Parkinson's disease. Eight patients with advanced Parkinson's disease disabled by severe ON/OFF fluctuations treated by chronic daytime subcutaneous apomorphine infusion with supplemental oral levodopa were studied. On day 1, oral levodopa was withdrawn at 4:00 pm and on the following morning subcutaneous apomorphine infusion was continued at the same rate without levodopa therapy. While receiving apomorphine alone, seven of the eight patients turned ON, and their usual dyskinesias returned. The ON phase persisted for 60 to 100 minutes (mean, 185.7 minutes) but then, despite continued, constant-rate apomorphine infusion to stabilize plasma levels, switched to an OFF phase. The authors conclude that the clinical effect of apomorphine is sustained by levodopa long-duration response. This effect is probably the result of postsynaptic mechanisms. In patients with advanced Parkinson's disease, the long-duration response to levodopa is present although slightly diminished.
Staurosporine-Induced Cell Death in Trypanosoma brucei and the Role of Endonuclease G during Apoptosis

Apoptosis in single-cell organisms like Trypanosoma or Leishmania was characterized in several studies in the last few years [1]-[4]. Cell death in these caspase lacking protozoa is still poorly understood and a conclusive apoptotic pathway has not been identified so far. In the work presented here, we studied the effects of prostaglandin D2 and staurosporine induced cell death in blood-forms of Trypanosoma brucei in a time dependent manner and focused on the role of a nuclease similar to endonuclease G of higher eukaryotes. We found that these parasites undergo apoptotic cell death as demonstrated by the appearance of several canonical hallmarks of apoptosis in higher eukaryotes, but that different stimuli induce remarkable differences in the way these cells die. We compared the effects of prostaglandin D2 and staurosporine in trypanosomes with and without endonuclease G overexpression by flow cytometric and electron microscopic methods with the result that endonuclease G overexpression led to a significant modification of intracellular organelles and accelerated apoptotic cell death in prostaglandin D2 or staurosporine treated cells. Our results demonstrate that different stimuli induce apoptosis even in these ancient organisms in different caspase-independent ways. Whereas central processes of apoptosis like ROS formation, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, endonuclease G release, phosphatidylserine exposure and DNA fragmentation appeared in the same chronology during treatment with either one of both drugs, other effects like cell cycle arrest or change of cell shape occurred only in the case of prostaglandin D2 or staurosporine treatment. We conclude from these results that trypanosomes react to stimuli of apoptosis with the concerted action of cellular responses but cannot control the final outcome if additional stress, as in the case of staurosporine, is superimposed.
Molecular dynamics simulations on the conformational transitions from the GA98 (GA88) to GB98 (GB88) proteins

We performed conventional and targeted molecular dynamics simulations to address the dynamic transition mechanisms of the conformational transitions from the GA98 protein with only 1 mutation of Leu45Tyr to GB98 and from the GA88 protein with 7 mutations of Gly24Ala, Ile25Thr, Ile30Phe, Ile33Tyr, Leu45Tyr, Ile49Thr, and Leu50Lys to GB88. The results show that the conformational transition mechanism from the mutated 3α GA98 (GA88) state to the α+4β GB98 (GB88) state via several intermediate conformations involves the bending of loops at the N and C termini firstly, the unfolding of αA and αC, then the traversing of αB, and the formation of the 4β layer with the conversion of the hydrophobic core. The bending of loops at the N and C termini and the formation of the crucial transition conformation with the full unfolded structure are key factors in their transition processes. The communication of the interaction network, the bending directions of loops, and the traversing site of αB in the transition of GA98 to GB98 are markedly different from those in GA88 to GB88 because of the different mutated residues. The analysis of the correlations and the calculated mass center distances between some segments further supported their conformational transition mechanisms. These results could help people to better understand the Paracelsus challenge. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Social Capital and Community Effects on Population and Individual Health

Abstract: Social capital refers to those features of social relationships‐such as levels of interpersonal trust and norms of reciprocity and mutual aid‐that facilitate collective action for mutual benefit. Social capital is believed to play an important role in the functioning of community life across a variety of domains, ranging from the prevention of juvenile delinquency and crime, the promotion of successful youth development, and the enhancement of schooling and education to the encouragement of political participation. More recently, researchers have begun to apply the concept to explain variations in health status across geographic localities. In preliminary analyses, the higher the stocks of social capital (as indicated by measures of trust and reciprocity in social surveys), the higher appear to be the health achievement of a given area. Strengthening the social capital within communities may provide an important avenue for reducing socioeconomic disparities in health.
The angiotensin-converting enzyme insertion/deletion polymorphism and serum levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme in venous thromboembolism

Summary The angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) has been suggested to affect blood coagulation and fibrinolysis. Results from literature on the role of the frequent insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism in the ACE gene in venous thromboembolism (VTE) are controversial. Only limited data on ACE serum levels in VTE exist. We determined the ACE I/D polymorphism by genotyping and ACE serum levels by an enzymatic assay in 100 high-risk patients with objectively confirmed recurrent VTE and at least one event of an unprovoked deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. One hundred twenty-five age- and sex-matched healthy individuals served as controls. ACE genotype frequencies were not significantly different between patients (DD: 26.0%,ID: 52.0%, II: 22.0%) and controls (DD: 29.6%, ID: 44.8%, II: 25.6%; p=0.56). Neither individuals with ACE DD genotype nor those with ACE ID genotype had a higher risk for VTE in comparison to those with ACE II genotype (odds ratio and [95% confidence interval]: 1.0 [0.5–2.1] and 1.4 [0.7–2.6], respectively). Serum ACE levels (U/l) did not differ between patients (median = 25.25, 25th –75th percentile: 20.20–33.70) and controls (24.20, 17.85–34.50, p=0.49). In the total population involved in the study the ACE DD genotype (n=63: 36.00 [26.40–43.00]) was associated with higher ACE levels than the ACE ID genotype (n=108: 24.10 [19.80–31.48], p<0.001) and the ACE II genotype (n=54: 19.35 [15.00–22.95], p<0.001). In conclusion, we found a significant association of the ACE I/D polymorphism with ACE serum levels. However, neither the serum levels nor the I/D genotype were associated with VTE.
Sanctuary Cities: Policies and Practices in International Perspective

Sanctuary cities in the USA, UK, and Canada aim to accommodate illegalized migrants and refugees in their communities. The concept of the “sanctuary city,” however, is highly ambiguous: it refers to a variety of different policies and practices, and focuses on variable populations in different national contexts. In this article, I examine the international literature to show how urban sanctuary policies and practices differ between national contexts and assess whether there are common features of sanctuary cities. I uncover legal, discursive, identity-formative, and scalar aspects of urban sanctuary policies and practices. These aspects assemble in ways that differ between countries. The article concludes by raising important practical and theoretical questions about urban sanctuary.
Plain-Style Preferences of US Professionals

Background: Although plain language is almost universally promoted by teachers of professional writing, editors, and communication professionals, some have argued that the effects of and preferences for plain style in written messages differ among groups of individuals. Research questions: 1. Do professionals prefer plain style? 2a. Do preferences differ for different categories of style? 2b. Do preferences differ for different groups of workers? Literature review: Style, the word- and sentence-level elements in a written text, is a critical element of plain language. There is evidence that plain style, however, affects readers differently based on their level of subject matter knowledge. Plain style is even criticized by a few. There is a long history of tensions surrounding linguistic prescriptivism, the notion that one manner of language use is superior to all others. Further, readers’ preferences for writing style, plain or otherwise, may not be consistent across occupational positions, education levels, nationalities, personality types, or genders. Research methodology: We conducted a quantitative study of preferences for two major style categories (conciseness and word choice) using an online survey instrument. The student-recruiter technique provided us with usable responses from 614 working adults in the US. Using that data, we calculated proportions of respondents, with confidence intervals, who chose the plain-style options. We also used statistical tests to explore associations between preferences and respondent characteristics. Results and conclusions: Our findings support an overwhelming preference for plain style among US professionals who are native speakers of English. Reader preferences were stronger for elements associated with word choice than with conciseness. Those with lower education levels and blue-collar occupations had lower preferences for plain style. The study had two major limitations: 1. We investigated only two aspects of plain style rather than the full range of elements that make up plain language. 2. Our data-collection instrument presented readers with an artificial rather than an authentic reading experience. Future research may investigate the role of personality on stylistic preferences and the attributions readers make about writers based on their style.