Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Matters of Scale: Positive Allometry and the Evolution of Male Dimorphisms

The developmental independence of alternative phenotypes is key to evolutionary theories of phenotypic plasticity and the origins of diversity. Male dimorphisms associated with alternative reproductive tactics are widely cited examples of such facultative expression of divergent fitness optima. Current models for the evolution of male dimorphisms invoke a size‐dependent threshold at which the phenotype is reprogrammed. We use predictions derived from allometric modeling to test for the existence of reprogramming thresholds in two species of beetle, Onthophagus taurus and Onthophagus binodis, and the European earwig Forficula auricularia. We also compare the allometry of a number of morphological traits to determine whether minor males suppress their secondary sexual traits. The intercept of the horn allometry was suppressed, but there was no evidence of reprogramming of horn growth in either beetle species. There was reprogramming in the earwig. In the beetles, the horn length in all males can be explained largely in terms of exponential horn growth following an extraordinarily steep power function. The asymptote in O. taurus can be explained by exponential growth meeting the constraint of resource exhaustion. These findings question the currently held view that beetle horn dimorphisms showcase the importance of developmental independence in the evolution of diversity.
Mutation analysis of the tyrosine phosphatase PTPN2 in Hodgkin’s lymphoma and T-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

We recently reported deletion of the protein tyrosine phosphatase gene PTPN2 in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Functional analyses confirmed that PTPN2 acts as classical tumor suppressor repressing the proliferation of T cells, in part through inhibition of JAK/STAT signaling. We investigated the expression of PTPN2 in leukemia as well as lymphoma cell lines. We identified bi-allelic inactivation of PTPN2 in the Hodgkin’s lymphoma cell line SUP-HD1 which was associated with activation of the JAK/STAT pathway. Subsequent sequence analysis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma and T-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma identified bi-allelic inactivation of PTPN2 in 2 out of 39 cases of peripheral T-cell lymphoma not otherwise specified, but not in Hodgkin’s lymphoma. These results, together with our own data on T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, demonstrate that PTPN2 is a tumor suppressor gene in T-cell malignancies.
Validity Issues in Narrative Research

Attention to the judgments about the validity of research-generated knowledge claims is integral to all social science research. During the past several decades, knowledge development has been split into two communities: conventional researchers and reformist researchers. Narrative research is positioned within the reformist community. The two communities use different kinds of data and employ different analytic processes. In both communities, researchers develop arguments to convince readers of the validity of their knowledge claims. Both need to respond to threats to validity inherent in their designs. The threats particular to narrative research relate to two areas: the differences in people's experienced meaning and the stories they tell about this meaning and the connections between storied texts and the interpretations of those texts.
Modelling and control of helicopter robotic landing gear for uneven ground conditions

This paper proposes a method to investigate into helicopter landing on uneven terrain by means of using a scaled articulated robotic landing gear. A mathematical model of an articulated robotic landing gear that adapts to uneven ground conditions is considered. The model consists of a planar landing gear composed of two legs connected by a base and a skid at each end. Each skid has two degrees of freedom with PID joint controllers to provide stability while landing. A combination of Lagrange and Newton-Euler techniques is used to model the system dynamics. This work also includes a model of the ground interaction, a thrust controller and a level controller to maintain stability while landing. Experimental results with a laboratory-build scaled prototype are included and compared with the simulations.
Inhibition of Experimental Seizures in Canines by Repetitive Vagal Stimulation

Summary: Repetitive electrical stimulation of the canine cervical vagus nerve interrupts or abolishes motor seizures induced by strychnine and tremors induced by pentylenetetrazol (PTZ). Tremors were defined as rhythmic alternating contractions of opposing muscle groups, exerting much less force than seizure contractions. Seizures were induced by injection boluses of strychnine or PTZ at 1‐ to 4‐min intervals until sustained muscle activity was observed electromyographically (EMG). Vagal stimulation terminated seizures in 0.5‐5 s. There were prolonged periods with no spontaneous EMG activity after stimulation. The period of protection was approximately four times the stimulation period. The antiseizure actions of vagal stimulation were not altered by transection of the vagus distal to the stimulating electrode. Optimal stimulus parameters were estimated: strength, ‐20 V (electrode resistance 1‐5 ω); frequency 20–30 Hz; duration, ‐0.2 ms. These data suggest that the antiseizure effects derive from stimulation of small‐diameter afferent unmyelinated fibers in the vagus nerve. These results may form the basis of a new therapeutic approach to epilepsy.
Is environmentally induced income variability a driver of human migration?

The role of environmentally induced income variability as a determinant of migration has been studied little to none. We provide a theoretical discussion based on a ‘risk aversion channel’ and an overview of the empirical literature on this. We also extend a previous empirical study on 39 sub-Saharan African countries with yearly data from 1960 to 2000 by including income variability and its weather determinants. Our findings lead us to acknowledge that, based on our dataset and methodology, income variability is a negligible driver of migration decisions at the macroeconomic level.
Executive Pay in the Public Sector: The Case of CEOs in UK Universities

We analyse top management public sector pay using a panel data of university Vice Chancellors (VC) in UK. We assess how institutional performance, hierarchical effects, and personal characteristics determine VC pay. VC personal data covers personal details, qualifications and career history, which let us distinguish between internal promotions and hires from outside academia. We use the results of three Research Assessment Exercises as academic performance indicators, and university financial positions as measures of sound executive management. We analysed the importance of university salary structure and how they affect VC pay. Fixed and random institutional effects are also identified and analysed.
Integrated sensors system based on IoT and mobile cloud computing

The advances in IT sector, cloud computing, the wide usage of sensors and mobile devices, and the Internet-of-Things (IoT) made our world looks like a small town. These rapid developments keep us connected all the day and seven days a week. Also, the IoT enables the connection of the devices around us (including different sensors) to the internet via different wireless and wired communication technologies. These networked sensors can be used to collect different types of data from different applications (healthcare, agriculture, civil and social life) and send it for processing and extraction of appropriate decisions. The mobile cloud computing technology is an efficient solution to process different types of collected data and respond with the required answer in real time situations where the quick response is very important. In this paper, we build a multipurpose integrated sensors system. This integrated system consists of networked sensors for different purposes and applications. For example, the sensors can be health sensors to measure the pulse and blood pressure of patients, or it can be sensors to measure the temperature to indicate a fire accident. The networked sensors will transfer the sensed data through wireless technologies to a Cloud for processing and notifying the listed users to take the proper action.
The Growth of the Human Face

THE growth of the human face presents some of the most complex problems of biology, problems which continue to attract the attention of many anatomists and dental research workers. It is not intended in this paper to deal with all the data, experimental and clinical, which has accumulated but rather to attempt the construction of an hypothesis adequate to correlate some of the accumulated information.
Forecasting Stock Market Series with ARIMA Model

Forecasting financial time series such as stock market has drawn considerable attention among applied researchers because of the vital role which stock market play on the economy of any nation. To date, autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model has remained the mostly widely used time series model for forecasting stock market series the problem of selecting the best ARIMA model for stock market prediction has attracted a huge literature in empirical analysis in view of its implication for national economics. In this paper, we consider the problem of selecting best ARIMA models for stock market prediction for Botswana and Nigeria. Using the standard model selection criteria such as AIC, BIC, HQC, RMSE and MAE we evaluate the forecasting performance of various candidate ARIMA models with a view to determining the best ARIMA model for predicting stock market in each country under investigation. The outcome of the empirical analysis indicated that ARIMA (3,1,1) and ARIMA (1,1,4) models are the best forecast models for Botswana and Nigeria stock market respectively.
527 Committees and the Political Party Network

We investigate the links between 527s and other political organizations through the employment histories of 527 staff. We find that 527s are highly central to modern political party networks and are in positions to facilitate coordination within a party and to employ key party personnel. Furthermore, we find important differences between the networks charted out by the two major parties. The Republican Party, the majority party during the period under study, had a more hierarchical network than the Democratic Party did.
Genomics education for the public: perspectives of genomic researchers and ELSI advisors.

AIMS For more than two decades genomic education of the public has been a significant challenge. As genomic information becomes integrated into daily life and routine clinical care, the need for public education is even more critical. We conducted a pilot study to learn how genomic researchers and ethical, legal, and social implications advisors who were affiliated with large-scale genomic variation studies have approached the issue of educating the public about genomics. METHODS/RESULTS Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with researchers and advisors associated with the SNP/HAPMAP studies and the Cancer Genome Atlas Study. Respondents described approach(es) associated with educating the public about their study. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed by team review. Although few respondents described formal educational efforts, most provided recommendations for what should/could be done, emphasizing the need for an overarching entity(s) to take responsibility to lead the effort to educate the public. Opposing views were described related to: who this should be; the overall goal of the educational effort; and the educational approach. Four thematic areas emerged: What is the rationale for educating the public about genomics? ; Who is the audience? ; Who should be responsible for this effort? ; and What should the content be? Policy issues associated with these themes included the need to agree on philosophical framework(s) to guide the rationale, content, and target audiences for education programs; coordinate previous/ongoing educational efforts; and develop a centralized knowledge base. Suggestions for next steps are presented. CONCLUSION A complex interplay of philosophical, professional, and cultural issues can create impediments to genomic education of the public. Many challenges, however, can be addressed by agreement on a guiding philosophical framework(s) and identification of a responsible entity(s) to provide leadership for developing/overseeing an appropriate infrastructure to support the coordination/integration/sharing and evaluation of educational efforts, benefiting consumers and professionals.
Generating Pointillism Paintings Based on Seurat's Color Composition

This paper presents a novel example‐based stippling technique that employs a simple and intuitive concept to convert a color image into a pointillism painting. Our method relies on analyzing and imitating the color distributions of Seurat's paintings to obtain a statistical color model. Then, this model can be easily combined with the modified multi‐class blue noise sampling to stylize an input image with characteristics of color composition in Seurat's paintings. The blue noise property of the output image also ensures that the color points are randomly located but remain spatially uniform. In our experiments, the multivariate goodness‐of‐fit tests were adopted to quantitatively analyze the results of the proposed and previous methods, further confirming that the color composition of our results are more similar to Seurat's painting style than that of previous approaches. Additionally, we also conducted a user study participated by artists to qualitatively evaluate the synthesized images of the proposed method.
Images of First-time Visitors to Queen Charlotte Islands and Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve

Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site are located in British Columbia on the Queen Charlotte Islands archipelago, also known as Haida Gwaii. The Archipelago Management Board, which manages Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve/Haida Heritage Site commissioned a comprehensive strategic tourism marketing effort to help ensure that tourism optimally contributes to the local heritage and the local quality of life. The study described in this paper was part of a larger research project developed to provide input to the tourism effort. The 1998 Queen Charlotte Islands/Haida Gwaii Visitor Survey and focus groups were developed in concert to obtain information useful to park management in understanding the region’s tourism system, and to forecast the outcomes of various scenarios for future management. Integral to a sound plan is a clear understanding of visitors’ images of the Queen Charlotte Islands/Haida Gwaii. Thus, this paper draws on the larger study to explore expectations and impressions of first-time visitors to Gwaii Haanas/Queen Charlotte Islands, a culturally and ecologically distinctive place. The goal of this paper is to enhance understanding of destination image shifts and the roles of visitation and information on place image. Results from 594 questionnaires and four focus groups shed light on the expected image and the resulting impressions held by first-time visitors to the Queen Charlotte Islands. Expectations were primarily related to attributes/features of the place (e.g., wildlife, Haida culture), while impressions were more evaluative of visitors’ experiences at the destination (e.g., excellent, peaceful, etc.). Composition of individuals’ images shifted from the destination environment (nature and culture) to their feelings about that environment (friendly, excellent, relaxing). This was evident in both survey and focus group results. The shift demonstrates a change from cognitive to affective image domains, providing further insight into components of image that are representative of first-time visitors. Information sources that played a role in creating visitors’ images generally were not under direct control of the destination; for example, coffee table books and newspaper articles. Theoretical contributions of these findings are discussed and practical implications for destination image and strategic tourism efforts on Queen Charlotte Islands are offered.
Fertility futures: implications of national, pronatalist policies for adolescent women in Australia

The Australian Federal Government has responded to the projected, adverse economic repercussions of an ageing population with pronatalist, family-friendly tax incentives, policy rhetoric, and a lump sum Baby Bonus. Tangentially, amid circulation of birth-dearth predictions, the media is positioning fertility as a precious, personal asset not to be squandered. Women in Australia are being subjected to a synergism of new - or renewed - societal forces to “procreate and cherish” that may have unintended consequences on the most vulnerable: newly-pubescent, adolescent women.
Bone density and metabolism in subjects with microdeletion of chromosome 22q11 (del22q11).

INTRODUCTION Although hypoparathyroidism with hypocalcaemia is one of the most frequent clinical features of monoallelic microdeletion of chromosome 22q11 (22q11DS), bone mass and metabolism have not yet been assessed in these patients. DESIGN This study aimed to evaluate bone mass and metabolism in a cohort of patients, both children and adults, with 22q11DS. METHODS In twenty-eight patients with 22q11DS (median age 12.5, range 6.1-42.8 years), serum levels of ionised and total calcium, phosphate, parathyroid hormone (PTH), 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, osteocalcin and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BSAP), and urinary deoxypyridinoline concentrations were evaluated. In these patients, bone mineral density (BMD) was evaluated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) examination, and volumetric BMD (bone mineral apparent density (BMAD)) was calculated. The data obtained from paediatric and adult patients were compared with two age-, sex- and body size-matched healthy subject control groups. RESULTS Patients with 22q11DS showed a reduced BMAD Z-score compared with controls (P<0.001). These patients also had significantly lower ionised (P<0.001) and total calcium (P<0.05) levels as well as lower PTH levels (P<0.05), compared with the controls. In particular, children and young patients with 22q11DS had significantly lower serum osteocalcin levels (P<0.001), BSAP levels (P<0.001) and urinary deoxypyridinoline concentrations (P<0.001) than controls. These results were not confirmed in adults. Finally, patients with hypoparathyroidism and/or hypocalcaemia at the time of the study showed significantly lower ionised (P<0.001) and total calcium levels (P<0.001), PTH levels (P<0.05), BSAP levels (P<0.001), osteocalcin levels (P<0.001) and urinary deoxypyridinoline concentrations (P<0.001), compared with patients without hypoparathyroidism and/or hypocalcaemia. Nonetheless, the BMAD Z-score did not show substantial differences between these two groups. CONCLUSIONS Subjects with 22q11DS have a significant reduction in bone mass that appears to be more severe in adults who have already attained peak bone mass than in children who are still growing. Therefore, we suggest a close monitoring of bone mass and metabolism in 22q11DS patients.
PREDICTING INDUSTRIAL BOND RATINGS WITH A PROBIT MODEL AND FUNDS FLOW COMPONENTS

This study uses an n-chotomous multivariate probit model with cash-based funds flow components and financial ratios to predict industrial bond ratings. The n-chotomous probit model provides superior information for evaluating the bond classification process. The model determines the probabilities of a bond being rated in one o f three risk classes. New and reclassified bond rating by Moody's in 19 83 provide the information base for the model that is used to predict 1984 ratings. Initially, the classification and predictive results were slightly lower than previous studies. A careful analysis of the probability distributions showed that the results were close to being correct in over 90 percent of the cases. Five significant cash flow components in predictive bond ratings of reclassified issues were inventories, other current liabilities, dividends, long-term financing, and fixed coverage charges. Likelihood tests indicated that both ratios and funds flow components contributed information that significantly improved the ability of the n -chotomous multivariate probit model to classify new and revised bond ratings. Copyright 1988 by MIT Press.
Inequality and the new human development index

Taking as a reference the new human development index introduced by the UN in 2010, we study inequality in the world with respect to achievements in human development. We consider four of the most widely known measures of inequality: the Gini, Theil, Atkinson and Kolm indices. We analyse the evolution of each index over the whole history of UN human development reports (every 5 years, from 1980 to 2010). We find that according to the Gini, Theil and Atkinson measures, the world was significantly more equal in 2010 than in 1980. However, the Kolm index shows that the distribution of human development has worsened.
Technique Percutaneous Quadriceps Recession: A Technique for Management of Congenital Hyperextension Deformities of the Knee in the Neonate

Precutaneous quadriceps recession was compared with open quadricesolasty in the Finder's type 5 category of congenital hyperextension defomities. Six open qudricepsplasties and six precutaneous recessions were performed between the ages of 5 and 58 days. Follow-up averaged 2 years 3 months. All Knees remmained reduced and maintained an improved range of motion (ROM). Precutaneous recession avoids a long incision, requires less dissection and surgical time, and has a shorter healing time. When performed in the neonate, precutaneous recession eases managemnet of the child and treatment of coexistent deformities.
Riots, Coups and Civil War: Revisiting the Greed and Grievance Debate

The most influential recent work on the determinants of civil wars found the factors associated with the grievance motivation to be largely irrelevant. Our paper subjects the results of this empirical work to further scrutiny by embedding the study of civil war in a more general analysis of varieties of violent contestation of political power within the borders of the state. Such an approach, we argue, will have important implications for how we think theoretically about the occurrence of domestic war as well as how we specify our empirical tests. In the empirical model, the manifestation of domestic conflict range from low intensity violence and coups to civil war. Our multinomial specification of domestic conflict supports the hypothesis that diversity accentuates distributional conflict and thus increases the risk of civil war. We also find that democracies may be more efficient than autocracies in reducing the risk of civil war.
Efficient Derivative Pricing by Extended Method of Moments

In this paper we consider an incomplete market framework and explain how to use jointly observed prices of the underlying asset and some derivatives written on this asset for an efficient pricing of other derivatives. This question involves two types of moment restrictions, which can be written either for a given value of the conditionning variable , or can be unform with respect to this conditionning variable. This distinction between local and uniform conditional moment restrictions leads to an extension of the Generalized Method of Moments, a method in which all restrictions are assumed uniform. We derive the (kernel) nonparametric efficiency bound for estimating a conditional moment of interest and prove the asymptotic efficiency of the Extended Method of Moments. The general results are applied in a stochastic volatility model to get efficient derivative asset prices.