Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Economic evaluation of special events: Reconciling economic impact and cost–benefit analysis

ABSTRACT The aims of event assessment are often unclear. Failure to clarify objectives has resulted in a less than satisfactory approach to event evaluation given that the two major approaches, economic impact analysis (EIA) and cost–benefit analysis (CBA), can give conflicting results. Since economic impacts do not equate to net benefits, an important topic for future research should be the issue of reconciling EIA and CBA. An approach is recommended that bridges the gap between EIA and CBA, in a way that has policy relevance for destination managers. Bridging this gap calls forth a host of challenges that must be met by researchers in the future.
The Contribution of Information Technology Infrastructure in the Information Systems Success in E-government Agencies

There are some great innovations in e-government during the past decade. And there is intense competition between some governments and leaders in the supply of services on the Internet. Some countries do not want to stay behind in this area, where many governments have developed detailed strategies to realize the e-government programs. Despite differences in goals behind these programs from one country to another, but there are still many points of convergence between them particularly in information technology infrastructure field. However, Problems associated with the process of application and adoption of e-government due to poor systems and infrastructure construction, which negatively affects the adoption of the public services through the e-government portal, in particular in developing countries. This study argued contribution the information technology Infrastructure in Information Systems success in e-government agencies. Where there are weaknesses in the understanding of this contribution and its importance in many developing countries, so the researcher proposed a model to clarify this contribution, and expected a positive relationship between the information technology infrastructure factors and information systems success, and this affects positively or negatively the adoption of e-government.
Comparison of the Prevalence and Predictors of Depression in Taiwanese and American Older Patients With Arthritis.

PURPOSE To compare the prevalence and predictors of depression in Taiwanese and American older patients with arthritis. DESIGN AND METHODS A secondary analysis was conducted to assess 151 Taiwanese and 70 American arthritic patients in Taipei, Taiwan and Chicago, USA. FINDINGS The prevalence of depression of Taiwanese and American older arthritic patients was 34% and 40%, respectively. Depression was explained by life satisfaction and functional ability in Taiwanese patients, and by life satisfaction and level of pain in American patients. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Nurses should assess patients' level of pain and functional ability, as well as their life satisfaction and depression.
Bye-Bye Bipolarism: The 2015 Regional Elections and the New Shape of Regional Party Systems in Italy

In May 2015, 19 million Italians were called to renew the legislative assemblies and presidencies of seven regions, thus concluding an electoral cycle begun in February 2013 that involved all the 15 ordinary statute regions. Beyond their immediate relevance – of the 15 incumbent presidents only three were confirmed in office – these elections represented a turning point for regional party systems, paralleling the earthquake of the 2013 general elections. The ‘fragmented bipolarism’ characterising elections in Italy at the two levels since the mid-1990s, has been replaced by a multipolar competition, as a consequence of the consolidating presence of the Movimento 5 Stelle and the internal divisions of the centre-right coalition. At the same time, fragmentation of regional councils has remained high. The evolution of regional party systems and patterns of competition are analysed in this paper, taking into account the electoral offer, turnout and results in the majoritarian and proportional arenas of the 15 ordinary statute regions.
Decision Algorithm for Heuristic Donor-Recipient Matching

This paper introduces the application of artificial intelligence paradigm towards precision medicine in renal transplantation. The match of the optimal donor-recipient pair in kidney transplantation in Latvian Transplant Centre (LTC) has been constrained by the lack of prediction models and algorithms. Consequently, LTC seeks for practical intelligent computing solution to assist the clinical setting decision-makers during their search for the optimal donorrecipient match. Therefore, by optimizing both the donor and recipient profiles, prioritizing importance of the features, and based on greedy algorithm approach, advanced decision algorithm has been created. The strength of proposed algorithm lies in identification of suitable donors for a specific recipient based on evaluation of criteria by points principle. Experimental study demonstrates that the decision algorithm for heuristic donor-recipient matching integrated in machine learning approach improves the ability of optimal allocation of renal in LTC. It is an important step towards personalized medicine in clinical settings.
A Missense Mutation in KCNJ12 Was Strongly Associated with Beef Cattle Stature

Potassium inwardly-rectifying channel, subfamily J, member 12 (KCNJ12) gene is one promising candidate for economic traits because of its crucial roles in myoblast development. Here, a missense mutation (Cys>Arg), was firstly detected to locate in exon 3 of KCNJ12 from three Chinese cattle breeds by DNA-pool sequencing. Then, we performed the association analysis of this SNP with stature in three Chinese cattle populations (n = 820). Significantly positive correlation was revealed by reduced animal general linear model and the genotype of CC is the most excellent genotype in three breeds. Further, we measured the expression profiling of the KCNJ12 gene in various cattle tissues and primary bovine skeletal muscle cells. Ubiquitous expression with high abundance in muscle was observed. Further, in primary bovine skeletal muscle cells, the KCNJ12 mRNA expression was gradually up-regulated in differentiation medium (DM) compared with that in growth medium (GM), suggesting that KCNJ12 gene is involved in bovine myocyte differentiation. Conclusively, KCNJ12 gene is a functional candidate gene which can be used as molecular marker for beef cattle breeding.
Performance of an Enhanced Membrane Bioreactor (EMBR) by Adding Aerobic Denitrification Strains in Treating High NH4+-N Wastewater

5 kinds of aerobic denitrification strains were screened and put into the MBR to make an EMBR. Aerobic denitrification were studied to treat the high NH 4 + -N wastewater treatment by the two MBRs (EMBR and common MBR). The result showed that the aerobic denitrification in MBR tank played a main role in removing the nitrogen at aerobic condition and the nitrogen removal efficiency was high to 93% in EMBR. The main pollution such as COD was also studied in the two MBRs. As a result, there had a good removal to the pollutions, in which the microorganisms played a greater role than membrane. The monitoring result indicated that the effluent quality of the MBR was better than the water quality standard for miscellaneous water consumption and scenic environment use (GB/T 18921- 2002), and the effluent could be totally used for irrigation.
#JOURNALISM: Reconfiguring journalism research about Twitter, one tweet at a time

Scholarship about social media in general, and Twitter in particular, has increased dramatically in recent years as adoption by individuals and institutions has burgeoned; especially by journalists and media organisations. Much of the journalism research on Twitter has focused on the dynamics of professional news practices on the social media platform, with journalism considered as a cultural field of production. This paper considers Twitter as a networked communication space that results in a hybridity of old and new frames, values and approaches. It highlights research that points to the hybrid and innovative forms of news production on open, networked platforms, suggesting new paradigms of journalism at play that break with classic narrative structures and deviate from long-held and fiercely defended norms.
The role of major gene in clubfoot.

The roles of major gene and multifactorial inheritance in the etiology of clubfoot (talipes equinovarus) were studied using Caucasian clubfoot families ascertained in Indiana. The method of analysis used was complex segregation analysis under the mixed model, in which five genetic parameters were examined to test hypotheses on major gene by displacement (t), degree of dominance (d), gene frequency (q), transmission probability (tau2), and multifactorial inheritance by heritability (H). The analysis showed that the segregation pattern of clubfoot in these families is best explained by assuming the action of a major gene with additional contribution of multifactorial inheritance. The estimates of the parameters under the best-fitting model were d = . 82, t = 4.69, q = . 030, tau2 = . 50, and H = . 17.
Effect of Stimulus Bandwidth on Auditory Skills in Normal-Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Children

Objective: Previous studies from our laboratory have shown that a restricted stimulus bandwidth can have a negative effect upon the perception of the phonemes /s/ and /z/, which serve multiple linguistic functions in the English language. These findings may have important implications for the development of speech and language in young children with hearing loss because the bandwidth of current hearing aids generally is restricted to 6 to 7 kHz. The primary goal of the current study was to expand our previous work to examine the effects of stimulus bandwidth on a wide range of speech materials, to include a variety of auditory-related tasks, and to include the effects of background noise. Design: Thirty-two children with normal hearing and 24 children with sensorineural hearing loss (7 to 14 yr) participated in this study. To assess the effects of stimulus bandwidth, four different auditory tasks were used: 1) nonsense syllable perception, 2) word recognition, 3) novel-word learning, and 4) listening effort. Auditory stimuli recorded by a female talker were low-pass filtered at 5 and 10 kHz and presented in noise. Results: For the children with normal hearing, significant bandwidth effects were observed for the perception of nonsense syllables and for words but not for novel-word learning or listening effort. In the 10-kHz bandwidth condition, children with hearing loss showed significant improvements for monosyllabic words but not for nonsense syllables, novel-word learning, or listening effort. Further examination, however, revealed marked improvements for the perception of specific phonemes. For example, bandwidth effects for the perception of /s/ and /z/ were not only significant but much greater than that seen in the group with normal hearing. Conclusions: The current results are consistent with previous studies that have shown that a restricted stimulus bandwidth can negatively affect the perception of /s/ and /z/ spoken by female talkers. Given the importance of these phonemes in the English language and the tendency of early caregivers to be female, an inability to perceive these sounds correctly may have a negative impact on both phonological and morphological development.
GPS 2.0, a Tool to Predict Kinase-specific Phosphorylation Sites in Hierarchy *S

Identification of protein phosphorylation sites with their cognate protein kinases (PKs) is a key step to delineate molecular dynamics and plasticity underlying a variety of cellular processes. Although nearly 10 kinase-specific prediction programs have been developed, numerous PKs have been casually classified into subgroups without a standard rule. For large scale predictions, the false positive rate has also never been addressed. In this work, we adopted a well established rule to classify PKs into a hierarchical structure with four levels, including group, family, subfamily, and single PK. In addition, we developed a simple approach to estimate the theoretically maximal false positive rates. The on-line service and local packages of the GPS (Group-based Prediction System) 2.0 were implemented in Java with the modified version of the Group-based Phosphorylation Scoring algorithm. As the first stand alone software for predicting phosphorylation, GPS 2.0 can predict kinase-specific phosphorylation sites for 408 human PKs in hierarchy. A large scale prediction of more than 13,000 mammalian phosphorylation sites by GPS 2.0 was exhibited with great performance and remarkable accuracy. Using Aurora-B as an example, we also conducted a proteome-wide search and provided systematic prediction of Aurora-B-specific substrates including protein-protein interaction information. Thus, the GPS 2.0 is a useful tool for predicting protein phosphorylation sites and their cognate kinases and is freely available on line.
Population Pharmacokinetics of Dexmedetomidine in Infants After Open Heart Surgery

BACKGROUND: Dexmedetomidine is a highly selective &agr;2-agonist with hypnotic, analgesic, and anxiolytic properties. In adults, it provides sedation while preserving respiratory function facilitating extubation. Only limited pharmacokinetic data are available for pediatric patients. The primary aim of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetics of dexmedetomidine in infants after open heart surgery. METHODS: We evaluated 36 infants, aged 1 to 24 months, after open heart surgery. Cohorts of 12 infants requiring mechanical ventilation after open heart surgery were enrolled sequentially to 1 of the 3 initial loading dose—continuous IV infusion (CIVI) regimens: 0.35–0.25, 0.7–0.5, or 1–0.75 &mgr;g/kg-&mgr;g/kg/h. The initial loading dose was administered over 10 minutes immediately postoperatively followed by a CIVI of up to 24 hours. Plasma dexmedetomidine concentrations were determined using a validated high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry assay. A population nonlinear mixed effects modeling approach was used to characterize dexmedetomidine pharmacokinetics. RESULTS: Pharmacokinetic parameters of dexmedetomidine were estimated using a 2-compartment disposition model with weight on drug clearance, intercompartmental clearance, central and peripheral volume of distributions, total bypass time as a covariate on clearance and central volume of distribution, and age and ventricular physiology as covariates on clearance. Infants demonstrated a clearance of 28.1 mL/min/kg0.75, intercompartmental clearance of 93.4 mL/min/kg0.75, central volume of distribution of 1.2 L/kg, and peripheral volume of distribution of 1.5 L/kg. CONCLUSIONS: Dexmedetomidine clearance increased with weight, age, and single-ventricle physiology, whereas total bypass time was associated with a trend toward decreasing clearance, and central volume of distribution increased as a function of total bypass time. The dependence of clearance on body weight supports current practice of weight-based dexmedetomidine dosing, whereas the clinical impact of the remaining covariate effects requires further investigation. Initial loading doses in the range of 0.35 to 1 &mgr;g/kg over 10 minutes and CIVI of 0.25 to 0.75 &mgr;g/kg/h were well tolerated in this infant population.
Baseline renal insufficiency and risk of death among HIV-infected adults on antiretroviral therapy in Lusaka, Zambia

Objective:To examine the association between baseline renal insufficiency and mortality among adults initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) in an urban African setting. Design:Open cohort evaluation. Methods:We examined mortality according to baseline renal function among adults initiating ART in Lusaka, Zambia. Renal function was assessed by the Cockcroft–Gault method, the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation, and serum creatinine. Results:From April 2004 to September 2007, 25 779 individuals started ART with an available creatinine measurement at baseline. When creatinine clearance was calculated by the Cockcroft–Gault method, 8456 (33.5%) had renal insufficiency: 73.5% were mild (60–89 ml/min), 23.4% moderate (30–59 ml/min), and 3.1% severe (<30 ml/min). Risk for mortality at or before 90 days was elevated for those with mildly [adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) = 1.7; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 1.5–1.9], moderately (AHR = 2.3; 95% CI = 2.0–2.7), and severely (AHR = 4.3; 95% CI = 3.1–5.5) reduced creatinine clearance. Mild (AHR = 1.4; 95% CI = 1.2–1.6), moderate (AHR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.5–2.3), and severe (AHR = 3.6; 95% CI = 2.4–5.5) insufficiency were also associated with increased mortality after 90 days, when compared with those with normal renal function. Trends were similar when renal function was estimated with Modification of Diet in Renal Disease or serum creatinine. Conclusion:Renal insufficiency at time of ART initiation was prevalent and associated with increased mortality risk among adults in this population. These results have particular relevance for settings like Zambia, where tenofovir – a drug with known nephrotoxicity – has been adopted as part of first-line therapy. This emphasizes the need for resource-appropriate screening algorithms for renal disease, both as part of ART eligibility and pretreatment assessment.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND POLITICS IN INDIA: A STUDY ON TWITTER USAGE AMONG INDIAN POLITICAL LEADERS

With the proliferation of internet into masses, social media is emerging as a potential way of communication. It provide direct channel to politicians for communicating, connecting and engaging with public. The power of social media, especially Twitter and Facebook has been proved by its successful application during recent US presidential elections and Arabian countries’ revolts. In India too, as the general election are about to knock at the door during early 2014, political parties and leaders are trying to harness the power of social media. This paper critically examines the recent happenings of Indian political world only on the microblogging site,. Twitter. Further it discusses the twitter activities of Indian politicians against the politicians all over the world. For this study, only the verified Twitter accounts were considered and the relevant figures are valid on the date mentioned.
Glucocorticoid Receptor Accelerates, but Is Dispensable for, Adipogenesis

ABSTRACT Dexamethasone (DEX), a synthetic ligand for glucocorticoid receptor (GR), is routinely used to stimulate adipogenesis in culture. GR-depleted preadipocytes show adipogenesis defects 1 week after induction of differentiation. However, it has remained unclear whether GR is required for adipogenesis in vivo. By deleting GR in precursors of brown adipocytes, we found unexpectedly that GR is dispensable for brown adipose tissue development in mice. In culture, GR-deficient primary or immortalized white and brown preadipocytes showed severely delayed adipogenesis 1 week after induction of differentiation. However, when differentiation was extended to 3 weeks, GR-deficient preadipocytes showed levels of adipogenesis marker expression and lipid accumulation similar to those of the wild-type cells, indicating that DEX-bound GR accelerates, but is dispensable for, adipogenesis. Consistently, DEX accelerates, but is dispensable for, adipogenesis in culture. We show that DEX-bound GR accelerates adipogenesis by directly promoting the expression of adipogenic transcription factors CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha (C/EBPα), C/EBPβ, C/EBPδ, KLF5, KLF9, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) in the early phase of differentiation. Mechanistically, DEX-bound GR recruits histone H3K27 acetyltransferase CBP to promote activation of C/EBPβ-primed enhancers of adipogenic genes. These results clarify the role of GR in adipogenesis in vivo and demonstrate that DEX-mediated activation of GR accelerates, but is dispensable for, adipogenesis.
3D Thermally Cross‐Linked Graphene Aerogel–Enhanced Silicone Rubber Elastomer as Thermal Interface Material

Efficient heat dissipation is becoming a key limiting factor for the next‐generation smart electronic devices with ever‐increasing power density. The thermal interface materials (TIMs), with high out‐of‐plane thermal conductivity (TC) and excellent mechanical properties, are thus highly desired. In the present work, an elastomer‐type TIM is fabricated with silicone rubber (SR) as the matrix, and 3D interconnected graphene aerogel (gGA) as the nano‐filler. The lattice defects of graphene are remarkably repaired by graphitization at over 2800 °C, probably with chemical covalent bonding between the graphene sheets, so as to decrease the interfacial phonon scattering. What is more, the results of X‐ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy confirm the thorough reduction and defects repair of 3D continuous graphene network, which can accelerate the heat dissipation. By vacuum/pressure alternate assisted impregnation, the as‐obtained gGA/SR composites show a consolidate structure with superior mechanical flexibility, which is desirable for TIMs. The TC reaches up to 1.26 W m−1 K−1 at a very low gGA loading of 0.50 wt%, which is 448% higher than that of pure SR (0.23 W m−1 K−1). This indicates that the 3D crossed‐linked graphene aerogel is an effective scaffold for enhancing the heat dissipation performance of advanced thermal management materials.
Molecular docking and dynamics simulation study of flavonoids as BET bromodomain inhibitors

Bromodomains (BRDs) are the epigenetic proteins responsible for transcriptional regulation through its interaction with methylated or acetylated histone residues. The lysine residues of Bromodomain-1 (BD1) of Brd4 undergo ε-N-Acetylation posttranslational modifications to control transcription of genes. Due to its role in diverse cellular functions, Brd4 of bromodomain family, was considered as a prominent target for many diseases such as cancer, obesity, kidney disease, lung fibrosis, inflammatory diseases, etc. In this study, an attempt has been made to screen compounds from flavonoids and extended flavonoids libraries targeting acetylated lysine (KAc) binding site of BD1 of Brd4 using docking and molecular dynamics simulations. Two different docking programs AutoDock and Glide were used to compare their suitability for the receptor. Interestingly, in both the docking programs, the screened flavonoids have occupied the same binding pocket confirming the selection of active site. Further the MMGBSA binding free energy calculations and ADME analysis were carried out on screened compounds to establish their anti-cancerous properties. We have identified a flavonoid which shows docking and Glide e-model score comparatively much higher than those of already reported known inhibitors against Brd4. The protein-ligand complex with top-ranked flavonoid was used for dynamics simulation study for 50 ns in order to validate its stability inside the active site of Brd4 receptor. The results provide valuable information for structure-based drug design of Brd4 inhibitors.