Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Study on the Relationship between International and Domestic Grain Prices in Developing Countries—An Application of Markov-Switching Autoregressive Model—

This study aims at estimating the influence of international grain prices on the domestic grain prices in 24 developing countries using a nonlinear model, Markov-Switching Autoregressive model. The results indicate that international grain prices have a positive influence on domestic grain prices before and during/after the grain price-hikes, while the degree of influence may vary depending upon grains and countries. Overall, the influences of the international grain prices on domestic grain prices during/after the price-hikes are less than before in those countries where rice or maize are staple food such as for rice in Benin, Cameroon, Niger and Tunisia and for maize in Chad, Guatemala and Nicaragua; however, the influences are generally larger than before the price-hikes for those countries where wheat is staple food such as Armenia, Georgia, Mauritania and Pakistan. For the effects of domestic prices in previous periods, they had a positive influence on current domestic grain prices in most of the countries in this study.
Population Dynamics of Chesapeake Bay Virioplankton: Total-Community Analysis by Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis

ABSTRACT Recognition of viruses as the most abundant component of aquatic microbial communities has stimulated investigations of the impact of viruses on bacterio- and phytoplankton host communities. From results of field studies to date, it is concluded that in most aquatic environments, a reduction in the number of bacteria on a daily basis is caused by viral infection. However, the modest amount of in situ virus-mediated mortality may be less significant than viral infection serving to maintain clonal diversity in the host communities directly, through gene transmission (i.e., transduction), and indirectly, by elimination of numerically dominant host species. If the latter mechanism for controlling community diversity prevails, then the overall structure of aquatic viral communities would be expected to change as well over short seasonal and spatial scales. To determine whether this occurs, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to monitor the population dynamics of Chesapeake Bay virioplankton for an annual cycle (1 year). Virioplankton in water samples collected at six stations along a transect running the length of the bay were concentrated 100-fold by ultrafiltration. Viruses were further concentrated by ultracentrifugation, and the concentrated samples were embedded in agarose. PFGE analysis of virus DNA in the agarose plugs yielded several distinct bands, ranging from 50 to 300 kb. Principal-component and cluster analyses of the virus PFGE fingerprints indicated that changes in virioplankton community structure were correlated with time, geographical location, and extent of water column stratification. From the results of this study, it is concluded that, based on the dynamic nature of the Chesapeake Bay virioplankton community structure, the clonal diversity of bacterio- and phytoplankton host communities is an important component of the virus community.
Destabilization of Coxsackievirus B3 Genome Integrated with Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein Gene

Aims: To evaluate the stability of coxsackievirus B (CVB) genome integrated with the enhanced green fluorescent protein gene (egfp) and provide valuable information for the use of the recombinant CVB variant. Methods: A CVB3 variant expressing eGFP was constructed by insertion of the egfp open-reading frame (ORF) at the 5′ end of CVB3 ORF. The recombinant virus CVB3-eGFP was serially passaged in HeLa cells. The deletions in the CVB3-eGFP genome around egfp were examined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. Results: Genomic deletions of CVB3-eGFP could be observed as early as the 2nd passage. Sequencing showed that the genomic deletions caused either viral ORF shifts or partial deletions of the viral VP4 coding sequence. The 6th passage of CVB3-eGFP was checked by plaque assay for eGFP expression. All plaque-like foci showed eGFP expression. eGFP expression was also viewed in HeLa cells infected with plaque-forming viruses. Conclusions: The insertion of egfp destabilized the CVB3 genome. The genomic deletions led to lethal mutations because of the termination of viral protein synthesis due to viral ORF shift and loss of partial viral gene. These findings imply that experimental data based on CVB integrated with the reporter gene should be interpreted with caution.
Effects of viewing conditions and rotation methods in a collaborative tabletop AR environment

In this paper, we investigate the effects of viewing conditions and rotation methods on different types of collaborative tasks in a tabletop AR environment in which two users are co-located. The viewing condition means how the manipulation of a tabletop world by one user is shown in the other users' view and the rotation method means what type of input devices is used to rotate the tabletop world for alternative orientations. Our experiment considered two different viewing conditions-consistent view and inconsistent view and two different rotation methods-direct turn and indirect turn. In the experiment, a 3D display environment called “Stereoscopic Collaboration in Augmented and Projective Environments (SCAPE)” was utilized as a test environment, and two tasks were considered: Lego-like block building task and text label selection task. The former was designed for synchronous and referring-strong type, and the latter was designed for asynchronous and orientation-strong type. As dependent variables, various objective and subjective measurements including task completion time, quality of task result, turn angle, and questionnaire were measured. According to the results, the viewing conditions had significant effects on several objective and subjective measurements. On task completion time, their effect for the synchronous task was opposite to that for the asynchronous task. On the other hand, the rotation methods had significant effects only on turn angle.
Multiplex PCR for detection of virulence markers of Vibrio vulnificus

Vibrio vulnificus is a Gram‐negative pathogen found in coastal and estuarine waters worldwide that can cause life threatening diseases. Characterization of the vcg (virulence correlated gene) or 16S rRNA alleles is used to distinguish virulent (clinical (C)‐type) from presumably avirulent (environmental (E)‐type) strains. However, some studies reported a significant number of clinical strains belonging to the E‐type. In recent years more potential virulence markers have been identified, that are useful for the identification of potentially pathogenic isolates of the E‐type. In this study, we successfully combined detection of pathogenicity region XII, nanA and a mannitol fermentation operon with the virulence associated alleles of the 16S rRNA and vcg genes in one multiplex PCR. Additionally, toxR primers for species confirmation and internal amplification control were included. Validation of multiplex amplification was performed with a total of 132 bacterial strains, including V. vulnificus (n = 71), other Vibrionaceae (n = 50) and non‐Vibrio isolates (n = 11). Multiplex PCR showed reliable amplification of four of the five virulence markers with a high sensitivity and specificity. Amplification of the 16S rRNA type B allele was not completely reliable with conventional PCR assays, however, the positive predictive value of this marker was 100 %.
MLL protects CpG clusters from methylation within the Hoxa9 gene, maintaining transcript expression

Homeobox (HOX) genes play a definitive role in determination of cell fate during embryogenesis and hematopoiesis. MLL-related leukemia is coincident with increased expression of a subset of HOX genes, including HOXA9. MLL functions to maintain, rather than initiate, expression of its target genes. However, the mechanism of MLL maintenance of target gene expression is not understood. Here, we demonstrate that Mll binds to specific clusters of CpG residues within the Hoxa9 locus and regulates expression of multiple transcripts. The presence of Mll at these clusters provides protection from DNA methylation. shRNA knock-down of Mll reverses the methylation protection status at the previously protected CpG clusters; methylation at these CpG residues is similar to that observed in Mll null cells. Furthermore, reconstituting MLL expression in Mll null cells can reverse DNA methylation of the same CpG residues, demonstrating a dominant effect of MLL in protecting this specific region from DNA methylation. Intriguingly, an oncogenic MLL-AF4 fusion can also reverse DNA methylation, but only for a subset of these CpGs. This method of transcriptional regulation suggests a mechanism that explains the role of Mll in transcriptional maintenance, but it may extend to other CpG DNA binding proteins. Protection from methylation may be an important mechanism of epigenetic inheritance by regulating the function of both de novo and maintenance DNA methyltransferases.
Research in development: Learning from the CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems

This working paper aims to synthesize and share learning from the experience of adapting and operationalizing the Research in Development (RinD) approach to agricultural research in the five hubs under the The CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems. It seeks to share learning about how the approach is working in context and to explore the outcomes it is achieving through initial implementation over 3 Â½ years. This learning can inform continuation of agricultural research in the second phase of the CGIAR research programs and will be useful to others aiming to implement research programs that seek to equitably build capacity to innovate in complex social-ecological systems. Each of the chapters in this working paper have shown that RinD has produced a range of outcomes that were often unexpected and broader in scope than might result from other approaches to agricultural research. RinD also produces innovations, and there is evidence that it builds capacity to innovate.
The Relationship Between Malocclusion, Benign Joint Hypermobility Syndrome, Condylar Position and TMD Symptoms

Abstract The current study investigated the association between temporomandibular disorders, malocclusion patterns, benign joint hypermobility syndrome and the initial condylar position. One hundred sixty-two subjects were analyzed using the Rocabado Temporomandibular Pain Analysis; Helkimo Index parameters; the Carter-Wilkinson modified test; and a mounting cast with condylar position indicator registration (MPI). The study revealed a significant association between: 1. Delta H, skeletal pattern (p=0.034); 2. Delta Y, transversal malocclusion (p=0.04); 3. right and left, Delta Z, right and left posteroinferior synovial pain (p<0.05); 4. hypermobility scale, gender (p<0.001), malocclusion pattern (p=0.021); 5. TMJ function impairment, gender (p=0.043); 6. sagittal malocclusion pattern, right temporomandibular pain analysis joint (TPAJ) (p=0.0034); 7. TMJ function impairment, left and right TPAJ (p=0.007); and 8. mandibular motion, left and right TPAJ (p=0.035, p=0.015 ). The conclusion was that anterior crossbite and condylar displacements in the vertical plane are risk factors in developing TMJ symptoms.
Organizational commitment within a contemporary career context

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relation between the underlying dimensions of protean (self-direction and values driven) and boundaryless (boundaryless mindset and organizational mobility preference (OMP)) career attitudes (Briscoe et al., 2006) and organizational commitment, within today's unstable and uncertain business scenario. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 167 professionals attending graduate and postgraduate distance learning courses. The hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression analysis. Findings – Research results suggest that protean career attitudes contribute significantly to individuals’ emotional attachment to their employing organization. Furthermore, OMP was found to be significant in predicting both affective and continuance commitment. Research limitations/implications – First, cross-sectional correlational designs impede conclusive inferences regarding causal relationships among the variables. Second, the use of a sample of professionals attending distance learning business courses could limit the generalizability of the study findings, because the majority of the respondents were homogenous in terms of age and educational background. Practical implications – Fostering individuals’ self-direction results in enhanced affective commitment to their employing organizations. Workshops oriented at clarifying and communicating organizational values, philosophy and principles can be all beneficial for strengthening employees’ commitment to the organization. Originality/value – This is the first paper to test the relationship between boundaryless and protean career attitudes and organizational commitment on a European sample.
Identification of Tyrosyl-DNA Phosphodiesterase as a Novel DNA Damage Repair Enzyme in Arabidopsis1[C][W][OA]

Tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 1 (Tdp1) is a key enzyme that hydrolyzes the phosphodiester bond between tyrosine of topoisomerase and 3′-phosphate of DNA and repairs topoisomerase-mediated DNA damage during chromosome metabolism. However, functional Tdp1 has only been described in yeast and human to date. In human, mutations of the Tdp1 gene are involved in the disease spinocerebellar ataxia with axonal neuropathy. In plants, we have identified the functional nuclear protein AtTDP, homolog to human Tdp1 from Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The recombinant AtTDP protein certainly hydrolyzes the 3′-phosphotyrosyl DNA substrates related to repairing in vivo topoisomerase I-DNA-induced damage. The loss-of-function AtTDP mutation displays developmental defects and dwarf phenotype in Arabidopsis. This phenotype is substantially caused by decreased cell numbers without any change of individual cell sizes. The tdp plants exhibit hypersensitivities to camptothecin, a potent topoisomerase I inhibitor, and show rigorous cell death in cotyledons and rosette leaves, suggesting the failure of DNA damage repair in tdp mutants. These results indicate that AtTDP plays a clear role in the repair of topoisomerase I-DNA complexes in Arabidopsis.
Nonlinear analysis of video images using deep recurrent auto-associative neural networks for facial understanding

Preliminary experiments on the deep architectures of the Auto-Associative Neural Networks demonstrated that they have a fascinating ability in complex nonlinear feature extraction, manifold formation and dimension reduction. However, they should successfully pass a serious challenge of training. Furthermore, using the valuable information inclined in video sequences is so helpful in manifold formation and recognition tasks. Considering sequential information, the recurrent networks are widely used in dynamical modeling. This paper presents a novel nine-layer deep recurrent auto-associative neural network which is capable of simultaneously extracting three different information (identity, emotion and gender) from videos of the face. The proposed framework is extensively evaluated on extended Cohn-Kanade database in analyzing dynamical facial expression. The experimental results demonstrate that the recognition rates of emotion and gender are 95.35% and 97.42%, respectively which is comparable with other state-of-the-art.
Influence of social networking websites on medical school and residency selection process

Background Social networking (SN) has become ubiquitous in modern culture. The potential consequences of revealing personal information through SN websites are not fully understood. Objective To assess familiarity with, usage of, and attitudes towards, SN websites by admissions offices at US medical schools and residency programmes. Methods A 26-question survey was distributed in autumn 2009 to 130 US medical school admissions officers and 4926 residency programme directors accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Results A total of 600 surveys were completed, with 46 (8%) respondents who self-identified as reviewing only medical school applications, 511 (85%) who reported reviewing residency programme applications and 43 (7%) who reported reviewing both. 90/600 (15%) medical schools or programmes maintain profiles on SN websites and 381/600 (64%) respondents reported being somewhat or very familiar with searching individual profiles on SN websites. While a minority of medical schools and residency programmes routinely use SN websites in the selection process (53/600; 9%), more than half of respondents felt that unprofessional information on applicants’ SN websites could compromise their admission into medical school or residency (315/600; 53%). Conclusions SN websites will affect selection of medical students and residents. Formal guidelines for professional behaviour on SN websites might help applicants avoid unforeseen bias in the selection process.
Age-dependent changes in oxygen tension, radiation dose and sensitivity within normal and diseased coronary arteries–Part C: Oxygen effect and its implications on high- and low-LET dose

Purpose: The aim is to study the implications of the decrease in oxygen concentration in the coronary artery walls with age and atherosclerosis, particularly with regard to an associated reduction in the radiosensitivity to high-and low-linear-energy-transfer (LET) irradiation. Materials and methods: In accompanying papers, the age-dependent morphology and composition for the wall layers of normal and diseased coronary arteries were developed in Part A from published data. In Part B, the oxygen concentration in the coronary artery walls was evaluated taking account the diffusion of oxygen from blood and the solubility of oxygen in tissues. In this part the oxygen effect was evaluated using published experimental data. Results: Based on simulation results from the one-dimensional diffusion model, the oxygen enhancement ratio (OER) is lower in the hypoxic vessel walls of aged and atherosclerotic arteries. Consequently the high-LET radiation damage arising from both the radon (222Rn) and thoron (220Rn) decay chains to the intimal layer of highly diseased arteries was estimated to be reduced by ∼37% due to hypoxia. A greater reduction in radiosensitivity (51%) due to hypoxia was determined for low-LET irradiation. Conclusion: These results imply that the oxygen effect, and other radiation biological factors, have a significant influence on radiation biological effects and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) to Japanese atomic bomb (A-bomb) survivors and patients receiving radiotherapy of the mediastinum.
Monetary Policy Transmission in an Open Economy: New Data and Evidence from the United Kingdom

This paper constructs a new series of monetary policy surprises for the United Kingdom and estimates their effects on macroeconomic and financial variables, employing a high-frequency identification procedure. First, using local projections methods, we find that monetary policy has persistent effects on real interest rates and breakeven inflation. Second, employing our series of surprises as an instrument in a SVAR, we show that monetary policy affects economic activity, prices, the exchange rate, exports and imports. Finally, we implement a test of overidentifying restrictions, which exploits the availability of the narrative series of monetary policy shocks computed by Cloyne and Huertgen (2014), and find no evidence that either set of shocks contains any endogenous response to macroeconomic variables.
Defected ground structure planar dual element MIMO antenna for wireless and short range RADAR application

A novel `I' shape with vertical slot defected ground structure (DGS) antenna using Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) for wireless application is proposed for 5.8 GHz frequency band. MIMO antenna consists of two symmetrical antenna elements fed with inset feeding technique. Ground plane of both the antenna made defective by using `I' shape supporting with vertical slots. DGS is introduced to improve mutual coupling between antennas. Designed antenna is resonating at 5.66 GHz and 7.53 GHz respectively. Return loss of -21.71 dB is achieved for wireless application band and -27.95 dB for other band. A high isolation of -26.94 dB and -24.60 dB among two antennas is achieved. The proposed MIMO structure gives high gain of 6.05 dBi and low correlation less than 0.5. The antenna is fabricated using 50.54 mm × 21.29 mm FR4 substrate. The simulation and hardware results demonstrate antenna can provide spatial diversity and increase data capacity of wireless communication. Simulated and measured results show good conformity for antenna parameters.
Multivariate regression models and geometric morphometrics: the search for causal factors in the analysis of shape.

gists (even those familiar with ordinary mul? tivariate analysis) and in part because the possibilities of application have not been ex? tensively explored. Bookstein (1991) defined morphometrics as the statistical analysis of the covariance between shape and causal factors. Thus, it is interesting to be able to examine the in? fluence of factors that might cause shape changes. In geometric terms, the shape of a group of objects can be studied if we remove the effects of location, size, and orientation from the finite representation of the objects (Small, 1996). Even for planar triangles, the simplest entities for which we can study shape, the study of shape differences within or between groups requires the construction of shape spaces defined by a minimum of two variables (Bookstein, 1991). Therefore, any study of shape variation is necessarily multivariate.
Technological, Organisational and Environmental Aspects of Audit Technology Acceptance

The purpose of this paper is to use the Technology, Organization Organisation and Environment (TOE) framework to understand the audit technology adoption in audit firms. Previous studies have only looked from the viewpoint of individual auditors and do not use a framework in which to understand the audit technology adoption. The audit technology differs from other information technology adoption because audit tools change the way in which auditors carry their tasks. One of the major contributions in this study is to use the TOE framework to analyse the factors in organisation adoption. Data of this study were gathered through questionnaire surveys that were self-administered to 1,367 audit firms registered in the Malaysian Institute of Accountants directory. Our findings indicate that although firms generally acknowledge that there are advantages of audit technology implementation and the benefits outweigh the costs, the firms also recognise that their organisations are only somewhat ready to adopt and their staff’s competency are only at a moderate level to be able to use the audit technology. Our survey also indicates that the role played by professional body support is important to increase its adoption.