Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Database development supporting offline update using CRDT: (Conflict-free replicated data types)

Database is nowadays a crucial data storage for application needs. Currently, there are several existing popular databases such as relational database like SQL and non-relational database (i.e. NoSQL). However, both types have their own drawbacks which could not be utilized in both online and offline modes concurrently. Therefore, the authors develop a database that supports both modes especially availability in offline mode without sacrificing consistency. The database is integrated with CRDT (conflict-free replicated data types) algorithm to handle and solve conflicts in synchronization process. Some tools and technologies are used in the database development including Apache Thrift for middleware, LevelDB for server database, and IndexedDB for temporary client database. The purpose of this development is to build a CRDT database with usable API for developer users. Finally, it is tested with scenarios to satisfy essential operations: add, remove, and update.
Antibodies to meningococcal class 1 outer membrane proteins in South African complement-deficient and complement-sufficient subjects

Inhibition assays were used to investigate human serum antibodies to the meningococcal class 1 outer membrane proteins. We adapted the whole-cell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique to determine the ability of sera to inhibit the binding of murine subtyping monoclonal antibodies. Serum samples from 33 South African subjects with a deficiency in the sixth component of complement as well as serum samples from various groups of complement-sufficient subjects were investigated. Subjects were subdivided according to whether they were (i) convalescent from Neisseria meningitidis infections, (ii) nonconvalescent, or (iii) controls. Preliminary subtyping investigations had shown that P1.2 was present on 36% of meningococcal clinical isolates from Cape Province, South Africa. Assays with the anti-P1.2 antibodies showed the presence of high antibody levels in many deficient sera and moderately elevated levels in some sera from the complement-sufficient convalescent patients. P1.2, P1.4, P1.15, and P1.16 are epitopes situated on loop 4 of the class 1 outer membrane proteins, whereas P1.7 is on loop 1. Inhibition assays showed that human sera that inhibited binding by P1.2 monoclonal antibodies tended to inhibit the other monoclonal antibodies directed to loop 4 epitopes. This suggests that the epitopes recognized by the human antibodies are not exactly the same as the epitopes recognized by the murine monoclonal antibodies and raises the possibility of the importance of other epitopes.
Monospecific Inhibitors Show That Both Mannan-binding Lectin-associated Serine Protease-1 (MASP-1) and -2 Are Essential for Lectin Pathway Activation and Reveal Structural Plasticity of MASP-2*

Background: MASP-1 is considered as auxiliary, whereas MASP-2 is considered as a key protease in lectin-pathway activation. Results: MASP-1 inhibitor SGMI-1 and MASP-2 inhibitor SGMI-2 completely block lectin pathway activation; the MASP-2·SGMI-2 complex reveals structural plasticity. Conclusion: MASP-1 is a key component; MASP-2 functions through induced fit or conformational selection. Significance: The lectin pathway activation model is incorrect. SGMIs revolutionize studying and enable regulating the lectin pathway. The lectin pathway is an antibody-independent activation route of the complement system. It provides immediate defense against pathogens and altered self-cells, but it also causes severe tissue damage after stroke, heart attack, and other ischemia reperfusion injuries. The pathway is triggered by target binding of pattern recognition molecules leading to the activation of zymogen mannan-binding lectin-associated serine proteases (MASPs). MASP-2 is considered as the autonomous pathway-activator, while MASP-1 is considered as an auxiliary component. We evolved a pair of monospecific MASP inhibitors. In accordance with the key role of MASP-2, the MASP-2 inhibitor completely blocks the lectin pathway activation. Importantly, the MASP-1 inhibitor does the same, demonstrating that MASP-1 is not an auxiliary but an essential pathway component. We report the first Michaelis-like complex structures of MASP-1 and MASP-2 formed with substrate-like inhibitors. The 1.28 Å resolution MASP-2 structure reveals significant plasticity of the protease, suggesting that either an induced fit or a conformational selection mechanism should contribute to the extreme specificity of the enzyme.
Marketizing U.S. Production in the Post-War Era: Implications for Estimating CPI Bias and Real Income from a Complete-Household-Demand System

This paper applies production theory to define a new set of inputs for U.S. households for the post-war II period, tests the new inputs to see if they support a complete household-demand system, and reports a new social cost-of-living index. The data support a demand system with nine major input categories and yield plausible price, income, and translating-variable effects. Women
Learning by doing: six dimensions of complexity in researching SMEs

Purpose - The purpose of the paper is to present practical methodological insights into doing research with the owner-managers of small and medium enterprises. Design/methodology/approach - Practical methodological lessons are reported from a project involving interviews with owner-managers of a set of 50 firms recruited from a random sample of 500 New Zealand “manufacturing” or “service” firms employing 5-50 full-time staff. Findings - The experiences of the project team were reflected on, refined, and presented as six practical “lessons” to be considered by others contemplating engaging with SMEs to achieve a research objective. Research limitations/implications - The findings are subjective (in that, they are the opinions and experiences of the researchers involved) and are derived from a specific context (the SME sector in New Zealand). Originality/value - The paper contributes to the small, but growing, body of literature that specifically deals with “good practice” research methodology in relation to small firms.
Evidence for a functional interaction between the V1/V2 and C4 domains of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 envelope glycoprotein gp120

The domains of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope glycoprotein that are required for envelope function have been partially characterized. Little is known, however, about the nature of the interactions between these domains. To identify regions of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein that are involved in interactions necessary for proper envelope function, we constructed a series of 14 envelope recombinants between the env genes of two HIV-1 isolates. The envelope chimeras were examined for their ability to induce syncytia, to be proteolytically processed, and to function during a spreading viral infection. Our results demonstrate that the exchange between the two isolates of the first and second hypervariable regions (V1/V2) of gp120 results in defects in envelope glycoprotein processing, syncytium formation, and infectivity. Long-term passage of cultures infected with virus bearing a V1/V2 chimeric envelope glycoprotein leads to the emergence of a revertant virus with replication characteristics comparable to those of the wild type. Analysis of the revertant indicated that an Ile-->Met change in the C4 region of gp120 (between hypervariable regions V4 and V5) is responsible for the revertant phenotype. This single amino acid change restores infectivity without significantly affecting gp160 processing, CD4 binding, or the levels of virion-associated gp120. While the Ile-->Met change in C4 greatly enhances the fusogenic potential of the V1/V2 chimeric envelope glycoprotein, it has a detrimental effect on syncytium formation when analyzed in the context of the wild-type envelope. These results suggest that an interaction required for proper envelope glycoprotein function occurs between the V1/V2 and C4 regions of gp120.
Variable Selection in Nonparametric Classification Via Measurement Error Model Selection Likelihoods

Using the relationships among ridge regression, LASSO estimation, and measurement error attenuation as motivation, a new measurement-error-model-based approach to variable selection is developed. After describing the approach in the familiar context of linear regression, we apply it to the problem of variable selection in nonparametric classification, resulting in a new kernel-based classifier with LASSO-like shrinkage and variable-selection properties. Finite-sample performance of the new classification method is studied via simulation and real data examples, and consistency of the method is studied theoretically. Supplementary materials for the article are available online.
Direct Subsidies and Housing Affordability in Australian Private Rental Markets

Many countries have undergone a broad retreat from the use of indirect (supply) subsidies to meet low-income housing-affordability problems, shifting to direct subsidies often linked to means-tested income-maintenance systems. Although the reasons for this change of direction are well documented, the efficacy of direct housing subsidies in terms of tackling affordability remains in question. The authors examine in detail one such system, Australia's Rent Assistance (RA) programme, making use of a microsimulation model of the Australian housing market linked to a model of the social security system. It is found that there is considerable targeting error because many low-income renters are ineligible for direct subsidies. It is also found that RA is relatively ineffective in overcoming affordability problems in high housing cost areas of Australia. Although RA does not of itself contribute much to poverty-trap problems, it may deter unemployed households from moving to areas where job vacancies exist. The authors conclude that future comparative work could usefully analyse the distributional and behavioural impacts of different forms of housing allowances. Moreover, alternative policies could be recalibrated within the microsimulation model in order to examine the first-round impacts of policy design change.
Investigating the Determinants of the Wednesday Seasonal in Irish Equities

This paper examines the extent, and determinants, of daily seasonality in the Dublin stock exchange over a ten-year period. It is found that there is a daily seasonal pattern in the two main indices. However, this seasonal pattern is mid-week, contrary to the previous research. This mid-week seasonality appears, on investigation, to differ in its source as between financial and other firms. Financial firms appear to react to macroeconomic news and non-financial to firm specific news, albeit weakly. No support for microstructural hypotheses of daily seasonality is found.
Web page prediction using Markov model and Bayesian statistics

Owing to the popularity of World Wide Web, many organizations have adapted different strategies to do their business, which enhance the rapid development of E-commerce directly and make the development of web usage mining skills important. It becomes a crucial issue to predict exactly the ways how users and customers browse websites. The result of the prediction can be used in different areas like personalization, building proper websites, promotion, getting marketing information, and forecasting market trends etc. Markov model is assumed to be a probability model by which users' browsing behaviors can be predicted at category level. Bayesian statistics can also be applied to present and infer users' browsing behaviors at webpage level. In this research, Markov models and Bayesian theorem are combined and a two-level prediction model is designed. By the Markov Model, the system can effectively filter the possible category of the websites and Bayesian theorem will help to predict websites accuracy. The implementation will show the efficiency of the provided model.
Twenty‐two novel LMX1B mutations identified in nail patella syndrome (NPS) patients

We report twenty‐two novel mutations in the gene encoding the transcription factor LMX1B, previously shown to be mutated in persons with Nail Patella Syndrome (NPS). The mutations comprised eight missense, one splice‐site, three insertion/deletion and ten nonsense or frameshift mutations. A sub‐set of five recurrent mutations within the homeodomain represents over one‐quarter of the described NPS mutations. The type and distribution of the mutations is consistent with the hypothesis that NPS is the result of haploinsufficiency for LMX1B. © Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Structure and function of three novel MHC class I antigens derived from a C3H ultraviolet-induced fibrosarcoma

The UV-induced, C3H fibrosarcoma, 1591, expresses at least three unique MHC class I antigens not found on normal C3H tissue. Here we report the complete DNA sequence of the three novel class I genes encoding these molecules, and describe in detail the recognition of the individual products by tumor-reactive and allospecific CTL. Remarkably, although C3H does not appear to express H-2L locus information, this C3H tumor expresses two distinct antigens, termed A149 and A166, which are extremely homologous to each other and to the H-2Ld antigen from BALB/c. The gene encoding the third novel class I antigen from 1591, A216, is quite homologous to H-2Kk) throughout its 3' end. Since all three of these genes account for polymorphic restriction fragments not found in C3H, it is likely that they were derived by recombination from the endogenous class I genes of C3H. The DNA sequence homology of A149, A166, and H-2Ld is especially significant given the functional conservation observed between the products of these genes. Limited sequence substitutions appear to correlate with some of the discrete serological differences observed between these molecules. In addition, both A149 and A166 crossreact, but to differing extents, with H-2Ld at the level of T cell recognition. Our results are consistent with the view that CTL recognize complex conformational determinants on class I molecules, but extend previous observations by comparing a set of antigens with discrete and overlapping structural and functional differences.
trimester : bed rest or modified Shirodkar cerclage ?

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare modified Shirodkar cerclage to bed rest for treatment of the midtrimester extremely short cervix. Methods: This study used a concurrent retrospective cohort design at two institutions over the same period, 2000–2010. Patients were included at both institutions when midtrimester endovaginal ultrasound cervical length was ≤ 15 mm and had modified Shirodkar cerclage (cerclage group) at New York Hospital Queens and bed rest (control group) at Weill Cornell Medical Center. Cerclage was placed as high on the cervix as possible. Indomethacin and antibiotics were used perioperatively. Results: The cerclage group included 112 patients and the control group included 55 patients. Median postoperative cervical length in the cerclage group was 3.3 cm (interquartile range 3.0–3.6). Cerclage patients were less likely to deliver preterm at 37, 35, 32, and 28 weeks (P = 0.0066, 0.0004, 0.0023, and 0.03 respectively) and had longer latency (median 120 vs. 94 days P < 0.0001). Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed a significant benefit in favor of cerclage (P = 0.0043). Conclusions: Our data suggest that modified Shirodkar cerclage as high as possible on the cervix with perioperative indomethacin and antibiotics is superior to bed rest for treatment of the midtrimester extremely short cervix ( ≤ 15 mm). We propose a randomized trial of this specific technique.
“Less Filling, Tastes Great”: The Realist-Neoliberal Debate

This essay examines and reformulates the realist-neoliberal debate. It focuses initially on the issue of the attribution of instrumental goals to states—the goals they pursue as a function of the environment they confront—and argues not only that such goals are epiphenomena of other things but also that their specification constitutes a mere redescription of the alternative equilibria that states can achieve in anarchic systems. The world orders that realists and neoliberals envision are but alternative equilibria to a more general game. In that game cooperation, regardless of its form, must be endogenously enforced, and a debate over instrumental goals (whether it is best to model states as relative or absolute resource maximizers) is not central to the development of a theory that explains and predicts world orders. Instead, the realist-neoliberal debate should be recast. The central research agenda should be to develop models that illuminate the following: how the equilibrium to a game in which states structure international affairs influences the types of issue-specific subgames states play, how countries coordinate to equilibria of different types; how the coordination problems associated with different equilibria can be characterized; how institutions emerge endogenously to sustain different equilibria; how states can enhance the attractiveness of an equilibrium; and how states can signal commitments to the strategies that are part of that equilibrium.
DEPRESSION AND MUSIC THERAPY TREATMENT-CLINICAL VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF EEG ALPHA ASYMMETRY AND FRONTAL MIDLINE THETA : THREE CASE STUDIES

Physiological measurements may be a promising addition to traditional clinical depression assessments if clinical validity can be demonstrated. We aimed 1. ) To examine the relationships between EEG measures (frontal alpha asymmetry, FAA; and frontal midline theta, FM theta) and psychiatric test; 2. ) to explore whether changes in those measures were congruent with clinical case descriptions by the attending music therapists. 79 adults diagnosed with a depressive disorder were included in this study Resting EEG and psychiatric tests (MADRS; HADS-A) were administered at intake and after 3 months. FAA was calculated at three electrode pairs (Fp1-Fp2, F3-F4, F7-F8), and FM theta (F3/4, Fz). EEG was transformed into z-scores (compared to a normative EEG database). Correlations between EEG and psychiatric tests were examined statistically. Psychometric properties of FAA and FM theta were also explored. Therapy processes of selected cases were analysed narratively and compared to the observed changes on EEG and clinical assessments. FAA on F7-F8 electrodes at intake was significantly related to anxiety (r = .29, p < .05; z-scores: r = .33, p < .01) but not to depression level. No significant correlation was found between FM theta and psychiatric tests. Z-scores of FAA were within the normal range, whereas z-scores of FM theta were higher than in the age-matched normal population. Test-retest reliability at 3 months was good for most measures. Comparisons of EEG and psychiatric measures with narratives of three selected cases yielded mixed results. FAA and FM theta demonstrate some potential as biomarkers in music therapy studies.
EFR3s are palmitoylated plasma membrane proteins that control responsiveness to G-protein-coupled receptors

ABSTRACT The yeast Efr3p protein is a main regulator of the Stt4p phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase at contact sites between the endoplasmic reticulum and the plasma membrane. A mutation in its fly homologue Rbo, leads to diminished light responses in the eye attributed to progressively impaired PLC signaling. Here, we find that Efr3s plays a role in maintaining responsiveness to the type-I angiotensin II (AngII) receptors. siRNA-mediated depletion of EFR3A and EFR3B impaired the sustained phase of cytosolic Ca2+ response to high concentration of AngII in HEK293 cells that express wild type but not truncated AGTR1 (AT1a receptor), missing the phosphorylation sites. Efr3 depletion had minimal effect on the recovery of plasma membrane phosphoinositides during stimulation, and AT1 receptors still underwent ligand-induced internalization. A higher level of basal receptor phosphorylation and a larger response was observed after stimulation. Moreover, Gq activation more rapidly desensitized after AngII stimulation in Efr3 downregulated cells. A similar but less pronounced effect of EFR3 depletion was observed on the desensitization of the cAMP response after stimulation with isoproterenol. These data suggest that mammalian Efr3s contribute to the control of the phosphorylation state and, hence, desensitization of AT1a receptors, and could affect responsiveness of G-protein-coupled receptors in higher eukaryotes.
Seasonal pattern in bipolar disorders and cardio-vascular risk factors: A study from the FACE-BD cohort

ABSTRACT Seasonal pattern (SP) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) are major contributors to poor outcome in bipolar disorders (BD). Patients with seasonal bipolar depression present increased appetite, carbohydrate cravings, weight gain, and hypersomnia, which can increase the development of MetS. MetS also appears to be associated with seasonal mood changes in the general population. This study examines whether a SP in BD is associated with an increased risk of MetS and its sub-components. One thousand four hundred and seventy-one outpatients with BD were systematically enrolled from 2009 to 2016. Inclusion required a disease duration of at least 5 years, with 486 (33%) patients with SP (SP+) and 985 (67%) without (SP–) according to the DSM IV-TR criteria. When using continuous measures of metabolic components, SP+ patients, as compared to SP–, suffered from higher levels for systolic blood pressure (p = 0.01), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p = 0.009), fasting glucose (p = 0.007), triglycerides levels (p = 0.03), a larger abdominal circumference (p = 0.02), and a higher body mass index (p = 0.07). In the covariance analysis, adjusted for gender, age, and bipolar subtype, as well as the number of depressive and hypomanic episode, SP+ patients had a significantly higher level of fasting glucose and higher systolic blood pressure. The frequency of MetS did not differ between groups (21.2% in SP– versus 23.9% in SP+). When using categorical definitions for abnormal metabolic components (International Diabetes Federation criteria), there were no differences between groups, except that SP+ patients were more overweight/obese as compared to SP– patients (55.03% versus 46.7%, respectively; p = 0.002) and tended to have more frequently high fasting glucose (18.2% versus 14.3%, respectively; p = 0.07). MetS was frequent in patients with BD, however not associated with SP. Patients with SP appeared more vulnerable to overweight/obesity and presented with higher levels of MetS subcomponents although these parameters were mainly in the normal range. All patients with BD should benefit from early screening and targeted management of cardio-vascular risk factors.
Investigating The Financial Implications Of Alternative Water Heating Systems

Electricity tariffs charged by the South African electricity supplier (Eskom) have sharply increased over the past three years and there is no indication of what to expect in the future with regard to electricity tariffs. Many South Africans are searching for ways to save on their monthly electricity bills by seeking out alternative water heating systems. The purpose of this study is to determine the most financially viable alternative water heating system for a household in South Africa using various investment appraisal techniques and taking into consideration the size of the household. The study found that the five investment options identified in the literature review would all, to some extent, be financially viable to implement within households with high, as well as low, volume hot water consumption. Although some of the water heating systems were found to be more financially viable than others, the conclusion was made that a savings will be generated on the monthly electricity bill no matter what alternative water heating system was to be installed in the place of a conventional geyser.