Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mitochondrial DNA of Protohistoric Remains of an Arikara Population from South Dakota: Implications for the Macro-Siouan Language Hypothesis

Abstract Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was extracted from skeletal remains excavated from three Arikara sites in South Dakota occupied between AD 1600 and 1832. The diagnostic markers of four mtDNA haplogroups to which most Native Americans belong (A, B, C, and D) were successfully identified in the extracts of 55 (87%) of the 63 samples studied. The frequencies of the four haplogroups were 42%, 29%, 22%, and 7%, respectively, and principal coordinates analysis and Fisher's exact tests were conducted to compare these haplogroup frequencies with those from other populations. Both analyses showed closer similarity among the Mohawk, Arikara, and Sioux populations than between any of these three and any other of the comparison populations. Portions of the first hypervariable segment (HVSI) of the mitochondrial genome were successfully amplified and sequenced for 42 of these 55 samples, and haplotype networks were constructed for two of the four haplogroups. The sharing of highly derived lineages suggests that some recent admixture of the Arikara with Algonquian-speaking and Siouan-speaking groups has occurred. The Arikara shared more ancient lineages with both Siouan and Cherokee populations than with any other population, consistent with the Macro-Siouan language hypothesis that Iroquoian, Siouan, and Caddoan languages share a relatively recent common ancestry.
Legitimacy Aspects of Social Network Relations in a Group of Women with Undefined Musculoskeletal Disorder

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to investigate legitimacy aspects of social network relations in a group of women with undefined musculoskeletal disorder. The aim was to study, from the viewpoint of the patient, the extent to which the symptoms of musculoskeletal disorder have legitimacy within the social network and how this legitimacy affects the patient's social network relations. A structural equation model was used to find the model best fitting the data arising between social support, legitimacy aspects and negative outcomes in the social network relations. The results can be summarised as indicating that illness legitimacy does affect availability of social relations and social support from friends, relatives and family. Of particular importance to this process is the patient's own perception of the legitimacy of her disorder. These results also confirmed previous findings indicating that greater attention should be paid to the impact of negative aspects of social support and its affect on patient health.
A solution for reliable and valid reduction of ocular artifacts, applied to the P300 ERP.

The P300 ERP was measured in 10 subjects each for 9 days. The selection of instructions for subjects, the recording technique, the elimination of a few single trials significantly contaminated by eye movements, and the use of a correction procedure for ocular artifacts with calculable reliability and validity resulted in a set of data, in which 94% of the single trials were suitable for further analysis. The correction procedure relies on regression analysis. To reduce coherence between eyeblink activity and ongoing EEG, VEOG and EEG are averaged on eyeblinks. This yields a high reliability and validity of regression factors, determined per day, subject, and lead. In addition, this correction procedure allows for an estimation of the maximal error that must be taken into account. The efficiency of the procedure is demonstrated for single trials and averaged potentials.
Muscle diseases in elders: a 10-year retrospective study.

BACKGROUND Muscle complaints are frequent among older adults, but histological data in this setting are scarce. Our objective was to detect the major categories of muscle diseases in the elderly population based on histological study. METHODS We reviewed all muscle biopsies performed in our hospital on patients older than the age of 65 during a 10-year period (1988-1997). As a control group, we included the next patient younger than 65 who underwent muscle biopsy after each elderly patient. We recorded demographic, clinical, and histological data of the patients, as well as the final diagnosis. Concordance between pre- and postbiopsy diagnosis was also analyzed. RESULTS We included 239 muscle biopsies corresponding to elderly patients and 239 to controls. Compared with the control group, elderly patients more frequently exhibited type II fiber atrophy and were diagnosed with a specific myopathy. The latter was achieved in 86 cases (36%), idiopathic inflammatory myopathies and vasculitis being the most frequent diagnoses. Interestingly, in about one quarter of the elderly patients in whom a definite diagnosis of muscle disease was achieved, this diagnosis had not been clinically suspected prior to muscle biopsy. Overall, in 60 out of 239 elderly patients (25%), a specific therapeutic regimen could be instituted on the basis of the muscle biopsy results. CONCLUSIONS Muscle diseases are not rare in elderly patients. Therefore, muscle biopsy constitutes a safe and useful tool for diagnosis because, if not performed, some potentially treatable diseases may be undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.
Olympulse VI: A Post-Event Assessment Of Resident Reaction To The XV Olympic Winter Games

This article, one of a series assessing the success of the XV Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, reports the results of monitoring residents' awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of a number offactors related to the games. The results presented underscore the success of the Games, not only in financial terms but in terms of otherpositive impacts on the City of Calgary, both during the Games and in terms of post-Games visitation levels.
To donate or not to donate? Product characteristics and framing effects of cause‐related marketing on consumer purchase behavior

The present study examines potential influences associated with donation framing, product price, product type, and donation magnitude on cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns, where money is donated to a charity each time a consumer makes a pur-chase. In addition to the main effects of the aforementioned factors, experimental results indicate that beneficial effects of product type (i.e., frivolous products bundled with a cause are more effective than practical ones) occur when donation information is framed in absolute dollar terms. The effects of donation framing are found insignificant when the donation magnitude is high. Influences of donation magnitude on CRM effectiveness are limited in high-priced items. When the donation magnitude is constant, a donation amount framed in absolute dollar value is more effective than that in percentage terms for low-priced products, and the opposite is true for high-priced items. In practice, marketers thus stand to gain not only by matching the donation magnitude in their advertised products with the right price but also by an appropriate “framing” of the offered bundles. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Familial influence on variation in age of onset and behavioural phenotype in Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND Alzheimer's disease manifests considerable heterogeneity, the cause of which is unknown. AIMS To determine the familial (genotypic) influence on phenomenology (phenotype) in Alzheimer's disease. METHOD Affected sibling pairs with Alzheimer's disease were assessed for a range of cognitive and non-cognitive symptoms. Resemblance for phenotypic characteristics was estimated using intraclass correlations for continuous traits and by pairwise concordance for dichotomous traits. The relationship between age of onset and APOE genotype was examined using linear regression analysis. RESULTS Significant familial effects on age of onset (intraclass correlation 0.41) and mood state (intraclass correlation 0.26), and a relatively high pairwise concordance for agitation (excess concordance 0.1) were found. The APOE locus was found to account for 4% of the variance in age of onset. CONCLUSIONS Substantial familial influence on age of onset, depression and agitation suggests that genotype does influence phenotype in Alzheimer's disease. Establishing the molecular basis for this phenotypic variation may prove relevant to other neuropsychiatric disorders.
Head and flagella subcompartmental proteomic analysis of human spermatozoa

Subcellular proteomics not only deepens our knowledge of what proteins are present within cells, but also opens our understanding as to where those proteins reside. Given the highly differentiated, cross‐linked state of spermatozoa, such studies have proven difficult to perform. In this study we have fractionated spermatozoa into two components, consisting of either the head or flagellar region. Following SDS‐PAGE, 1 mm slices were digested and used for LC‐MS/MS analysis. In total, 1429 proteins were identified with 721 proteins being exclusively found in the tail and 521 exclusively in the head. Not only is this the largest reported proteomic analysis of human spermatozoa, but also it has provided novel insights into the compartmentalization of proteins, particularly receptors, never previously reported to be present in this cell type.
Child allowances and allocative decisions in Romanian households

In this paper it is tested whether increasing child allowances will affect the intra-household allocation of consumption, measured by child and adult goods, holding total household resources constant. The analysis is based on household survey data collected in Romania, where cash payments are made to families according to the number and age of children. Selectivity is controled for since there is the potential for self-selection bias in terms of the level of child allowances received. The findings suggest that holding total household resources constant, child allowances increase demand for child goods and calories and reduce demand for adult goods.
Customer satisfaction management in Italian banks

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a survey that aimed to analyse the state of organisational and operative evolution of the functions and activities overseeing customer satisfaction in Italian banks. Design/methodology/approach - The research was conducted by questionnaire, to which 92 banks responded, representative of 77 per cent of the total assets of the Italian banking system. Findings - The analysis of the results makes it possible to highlight the current approaches aimed at managing customer satisfaction, as well as the extent of integration between this and other management processes within the banks surveyed. The authors found that in these banks customer satisfaction is no longer a staff activity but increasingly a line activity, it involves the responsibility of top management and is a key indicator in staff incentive schemes. Originality/value - The research aims to contribute to the literature on customer satisfaction on the one hand, by verifying if and how banks measure and manage some of the customer satisfaction cause-effect relationships investigated by studies on the subject and, on the other hand, by focusing attention on organisation and internal processes aimed to support the assessment and improvement of customer satisfaction.
Characterization of Human hect Domain Family Members and Their Interaction with UbcH5 and UbcH7*

The hect domain protein family was originally identified by sequence similarity of its members to the C-terminal region of E6-AP, an E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase. Since the C terminus of E6-AP mediates thioester complex formation with ubiquitin, a necessary intermediate step in E6-AP-dependent ubiquitination, it was proposed that members of the hect domain family in general have E3 activity. The hect domain is approximately 350 amino acids in length, and we show here that the hect domain of E6-AP is necessary and sufficient for ubiquitin thioester adduct formation. Furthermore, the human genome encodes at least 20 different hect domain proteins, and in further support of the hypothesis that hect domain proteins represent a family of E3s, several of these are shown to form thioester complexes with ubiquitin. In addition, some hect domain proteins interact preferentially with UbcH5, whereas others interact with UbcH7, indicating that human hect domain proteins can be grouped into at least two classes based on their E2 specificity. Since E3s are thought to play a major role in substrate recognition, the presence of a large family of E3s should contribute to ensure the specificity and selectivity of ubiquitin-dependent proteolytic pathways.
Multiple-Locus Sequence Typing and Analysis of Toxin Genes in Bacillus cereus Food-Borne Isolates

ABSTRACT In the present study we characterized 47 food-borne isolates of Bacillus cereus using multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Newly determined sequences were combined with sequences available in public data banks in order to produce the largest data set possible. Phylogenetic analysis was performed on a total of 296 strains for which MLST sequence information is available, and three main lineages—I, II, and III—within the B. cereus complex were identified. With few exceptions, all food-borne isolates were in group I. The occurrence of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) among various strains was analyzed by several statistical methods, providing evidence of widespread lateral gene transfer within B. cereus. We also investigated the occurrence of toxin-encoding genes, focusing on their evolutionary history within B. cereus. Several patterns were identified, indicating a pivotal role of HGT in the evolution of toxin-encoding genes. Our results indicate that HGT is an important element in shaping the population structure of the B. cereus complex. The results presented here also provide strong evidence of reticulate evolution within the B. cereus complex.
Biofumigation with Brassica juncea, Raphanus sativus and Eruca sativa for the management of field populations of the potato cyst nematode Globodera pallida.

BACKGROUND The viability of potato cyst nematode (PCN) populations (Globodera pallida) was evaluated in three field experiments using Brassica juncea, Raphanus sativus and Eruca sativa amendments. These species were summer cultivated and autumn incorporated in experiment 1; in experiment 2, overwintered brassicaceous cover crops were spring incorporated. Experiment 3 involved determination of effects of metconazole application on biomass/glucosinolate production by B. juncea and R. sativus and on PCN pre- and post-incorporation. Glucosinolate contents were determined before incorporation. Following cover crop incorporation, field plots were planted with susceptible potatoes to evaluate the biofumigation effects on PCN reproduction. RESULTS In experiment 1, PCN population post-potato harvest was reduced (P = 0.03) in B. juncea-treated plots, while R. sativus prevented further multiplication, but in experiment 2 there were no significant effects on PCN reproduction. In experiment 3, B. juncea or R. sativus either untreated or treated with metconazole reduced PCN populations. Glucosinolate concentrations varied significantly between different plant regions and cultivation seasons. Metconazole application increased the sinigrin concentration in B. juncea tissues. Glucosinolate concentrations correlated positively with PCN mortality for summer-cultivated brassicaceous plants. CONCLUSION The results demonstrated that B. juncea and R. sativus green manures can play an important role in PCN management, particularly if included in an integrated pest management scheme.
Prevalence of sexual risk behaviour and substance use among runaway and homeless adolescents in San Francisco, Denver and New York City

Summary: We aim to assess the prevalence of HIV sexual risk behaviours and substance use among runaway and homeless adolescents in San Francisco, Denver and New York City. Survey data were examined from 775 runaway and homeless adolescents recruited from street settings and youth agencies during 1992/1993. Nearly all (98%) reported having engaged in sexual intercourse, of whom 49% first had intercourse by the age of 13. Condom use during all vaginal intercourse in the previous 3 months was reported by 42%. Among males, 23% indicated that they had exchanged sex for money, as did 14% of the females. Ninety-seven per cent had used alcohol or drugs and 21% had injected drugs. Overall, 75% reported having had sex while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Systematic epidemiological studies of this population and the development of innovative interventions are essential to reduce the threat of HIV among runaway and homeless youth.
Employee voice and job satisfaction in Australia: The centrality of direct voice

This study examines the relationship between employee voice and job satisfaction using data from the 2007 Australian Workplace Representation Survey (AWRPS) of 1,022 employees. Drawing on human resource management and industrial relations literature, we test hypotheses concerning the relationship between direct and union voice arrangements and job satisfaction. This relationship represents a gap in the literature, which is important from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Controlling for a range of personal, job, and workplace characteristics, regression analyses suggest that although evidence of voice complementarity exists, direct voice appears to be the central voice arrangement underpinning employees' job satisfaction. The article concludes by highlighting the study's implications for management practice and identifies avenues for further research. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Europeanisation of a Non-EU Country: The Case of Swiss Immigration Policy

Although studies of the influence of Europeanisation on domestic politics and institutions are numerous, a consistent and systematic analytical framework is still lacking. This article tries to overcome this weakness and presents a comprehensive framework that examines the conditions under which Europeanisation is likely to lead to national adaptation. We identify three main independent variables, including domestic power configurations, mediating domestic institutions, and actors' strategies. This model is applied to the agreement on the free movement of persons between Switzerland and the European Union. Our results suggest that it is not the number of veto points as such that matters most, but the strength of the actors that activate them or threaten to do so, and the counter-strategies available to actors favouring change.
Networking: Gender differences and the association with firm performance

This study had two primary objectives. First, to determine whether there are any systematic networking diffesrences between male and female SME owners. Second, to determine if there is an association between networking and firm performance, for both male- and female-controlled SMEs. The results of examining 2,919 male- and 181 female-controlled SMEs (with at least one employee) over a three-year period suggest little difference in the networks accessed by male and female SME owners after controlling for education, experience, industry, age and size. The results also indicate that several formal and informal networks are positively associated with firm survival but only formal networks appear to be associated with growth. In particular, accessing an external accountant is associated with survival and growth for both male- and female-controlled SMEs.
Empowerment of Rural Women: An Analysis of Constraints

Empowerment is an active process, which enables women to realize their identity and power in all aspects of life. It enables women to have more access to knowledge and resources, greater autonomy in decision making, greater ability to plan their times, free them from the clutches of irrelevant customs built and practices. This study was conducted in one of the development blocks of Faizabad district i.e. Masodha block on 100 women respondents (the wives of household heads) selected from 4 villages of Masodha block on the basis of proportionate random sampling technique. A semi-structured schedule was used to collect the data from rural women. Various constraints, which were observed in empowerment of rural women, were social constraints, political constraints, economic constraints and psychological constraints. The main reason for poor empowerment of rural women was noted as ‘lack of knowledge about new technology’.
Ergometer training volume and previous injury predict back pain in rowing; strategies for injury prevention and rehabilitation

The most commonly reported injury site in rowers is the lower back. Research in recent years has focused on epidemiology and biomechanical analyses to try and understand mechanisms that contribute to this injury's onset. Injury surveillance mainly comprises retrospective questionnaires and reviews of medical records with a lack of prospective data. Of studies that reported 12-month data, the incidence of low back pain ranged from 31.8 to 51% of the cohort. Of the limited studies that specifically examined low back pain in rowers, (1) history of lumbar spine injury and (2) volume of ergometer training were the most significant risk factors for injury onset. Studies of technique on the rowing ergometer have indicated the importance of lumbopelvic rotation during rowing. Greater pelvic rotation at either end of the stroke is ideal—as opposed to lumbar flexion and extension; this tends to be poorly demonstrated in novice rowers on ergometers. Furthermore, technique can deteriorate with the demands of rowing intensity and duration, which puts the rower returning from injury at additional risk.
Fast simulation of diversity Nakagami fading channels using finite-state Markov models

We designed a multi-channel Nakagami fading simulator by modeling the received combined signal-to-noise ratio as a finite-state Markov chain, following a previously proposed approach. Our model generates directly the error process at the output of a diversity receiver and can emulate selection, maximal-ratio, and equal-gain combining. As the order of diversity increases, the savings in computational complexity improve linearly with respect to a traditional waveform simulator. The level crossing rates of the simulated envelope are shown to be very close to their theoretical values. The simulator's performance is also evaluated in terms of the accuracy of the obtained bit error rates, for both uncoded and coded systems. The simulator speeds up the performance evaluation of high-rate communication links where a high number of samples is needed.