Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A changing economic vote in Western Europe? Long-term vs. short-term forces

Abstract Considerable research shows the presence of an economic vote, with governments rewarded or punished by voters, depending on the state of the economy. But how stable is this economic vote? A current argument holds its effect has increased over time, because of weakening long-term social and political forces. Under these conditions, short-term forces, foremostly the economic issue, can come to the fore. A counter-argument, however, sees the economic vote effect in decline, due to globalization. Against these rival hypotheses rests the status-quo argument: the economic vote effect remains unchanged. To test these claims, we estimate carefully specified models of the incumbent vote, at both the individual and aggregate levels. Western European elections provide the data, with particular attention to Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. Perhaps surprisingly, we find the economic vote to be stable over time, a ‘standing decision’ rule that voters follow in national elections.
Microglia-Derived Olfactomedin-like 3 Promotes Pro-Tumorigenic Microglial Function and Malignant Features of Glioma Cells

Under the influence of transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ), glioma-associated microglia produce molecules that promote glioma growth and invasion. Olfactomedin-like 3 (Olfml3), a novel, secreted glycoprotein, is known to promote several non-CNS cancers. While it is a direct TGFβ1 target gene in microglia, the role of microglia-derived OLFML3 in glioma progression is unknown. Here, we tested the hypotheses that microglial Olfml3 is integral to the pro-tumorigenic glioma-associated microglia phenotype and promotes glioma cell malignancy. Using an Olfml3 knockout microglial cell line (N9), we demonstrated that Olfml3 is a direct target gene of all TGFβ isoforms in murine microglia. Moreover, loss of Olfml3 attenuated TGFβ-induced restraint on microglial immune function and production of cytokines that are critical in promoting glioma cell malignancy. Importantly, microglia-derived OLFML3 directly contributes to glioma cell malignancy through increased migration and invasion. While exposure to conditioned medium (CM) from isogenic control microglia pre-treated with TGFβ increased mouse glioma cell (GL261) migration and invasion, this effect was abolished with exposure to CM from TGFβ-treated Olfml3-/- microglia. Taken together, our data suggest that Olfml3 may serve as a gatekeeper for TGFβ-induced microglial gene expression, thereby promoting the pro-tumorigenic microglia phenotype and glioma cell malignancy.
Zeta potential response of human erythrocyte membranes to the modulators of Gardos channel activity under low rate β (cid:30)radiation

Objective . Study of human erythrocyte DP response under modification by activators and blockers of the function(cid:25) al state of Ca 2+ (cid:25)dependent K + channels under low rate β (cid:25)radiation. Materials and methods . Erythrocytes were isolated from the donor blood. The zeta potential was computed from the value of the cell electrophoretic mobility. The investigated drugs preliminary introduced in cellular suspensions, and then aliquote of 90 Sr(NO 3 ) 2 solution to get the final activity concentration of 44. ,4 kBq·l (cid:25)1 . Results . The radioisotope radiation of 90 Sr/ 90 Y (RR, 15 mGy·h (cid:25)1 ) increases an absolute value of erythrocyte mem(cid:25) branes DP (DPab), and its action is reversible. It specifies the effect is mediated by nonionizing part of the RR. Dibutyril(cid:25)cAMP dose(cid:25)independent increases DPab of erythrocyte membranes in the concentration range of 1–100 μ М, but RR does not amplify this effect. Anapriline increases dose(cid:25)independent DPab in concentrations 10 and 100 mМ. The effect of maximal concentration of anapriline (100 μ М) decreases by RR. Clotrimazol increases DPab of erythro(cid:25) cyte membranes in the concentration range of 0,1–10 μ М relatively control, while its maximal concentration (cid:25) decreases, and the minimal level does not reliably influence on this index The action of сlotrimazol on DP in con(cid:25) centrations of 10–100 μ М is abolished by RR, and is not changed in the range of 0,1–1,0 μ М. Nitrendipine raises DPab of erythrocyte membranes in all of range of concentrations, and RR amplifies the effect of the drug. Conclusions . There a threshold of cells the component a the of radiation is mediated by its nonionizing component, and is reversible, and therefore determined only in
Selective Laser Melting of Pre-Alloyed NiTi Powder: Single-Track Study and FE Modeling with Heat Source Calibration

Unique functional properties such as the low stiffness, superelasticity, and biocompatibility of nickel–titanium shape-memory alloys provide many applications for such materials. Selective laser melting of NiTi enables low-cost customization of devices and the manufacturing of highly complex geometries without subsequent machining. However, the technology requires optimization of process parameters in order to guarantee high mass density and to avoid deterioration of functional properties. In this work, the melt pool geometry, surface morphology, formation mode, and thermal behavior were studied. Multiple combinations of laser power and scanning speed were used for single-track preparation from pre-alloyed NiTi powder on a nitinol substrate. The experimental results show the influence of laser power and scanning speed on the depth, width, and depth-to-width aspect ratio. Additionally, a transient 3D FE model was employed to predict thermal behavior in the melt pool for different regimes. In this paper, the coefficients for a volumetric double-ellipsoid heat source were calibrated with bound optimization by a quadratic approximation algorithm, the design of experiments technique, and experimentally obtained data. The results of the simulation reveal the necessary conditions of transition from conduction to keyhole mode welding. Finally, by combining experimental and FE modeling results, the optimal SLM process parameters were evaluated as P = 77 W, V = 400 mm/s, h = 70 μm, and t = 50 μm, without printing of 3D samples.
Double-blind comparison of sertraline, imipramine, and placebo in the treatment of dysthymia: psychosocial outcomes.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of antidepressant pharmacotherapy on mood symptoms and psychosocial outcomes in dysthymia. METHOD In a multicenter, double-blind, parallel-group trial, 416 patients with a diagnosis of early-onset primary dysthymia (DSM-III-R) of at least 5 years' duration without concurrent major depression were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of acute-phase therapy with sertraline, imipramine, or placebo. The psychosocial outcome measures used in the study were the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale, the Social Adjustment Scale, the Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation psychosocial ratings, and the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire. RESULTS Sertraline and imipramine were significantly better than placebo in improving psychosocial outcomes as measured by the first three instruments. The Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire scores demonstrated significant improvements from baseline, and both active treatments produced significantly greater improvements than placebo. Significantly fewer patients discontinued sertraline (6.0%) than discontinued imipramine (18.4%) because of adverse events. CONCLUSIONS Pharmacotherapy is an effective treatment for dysthymia in terms of psychosocial functioning as well as depressive symptoms, even when the dysthymia is long-standing.
Proton pumps populate the contractile vacuoles of Dictyostelium amoebae

Amoebae of the eukaryotic microorganism Dictyostelium discoideum were found to contain an interconnected array of tubules and cisternae whose membranes were studded with 15-nm-diameter "pegs. " Comparison of the ultrastructure and freeze-fracture behavior of these pegs with similar structures found in other cells and tissues indicated that they were the head domains of vacuolar-type proton pumps. Supporting this identification, the pegs were observed to decorate and clump when broken amoebae were exposed to an antiserum against the B subunit of mammalian vacuolar H(+)-ATPase. The appearance of the peg-rich cisternae in quick-frozen amoebae depended on their osmotic environment: under hyperosmotic conditions, the cisternae were flat with many narrow tubular extensions, while under hypo-osmotic conditions the cisternae ranged from bulbous to spherical. In all cases, however, their contents deep etched like pure water. These properties indicated that the interconnected tubules and cisternae comprise the contractile vacuole system of Dictyostelium. Earlier studies had demonstrated that contractile vacuole membranes in Dictyostelium are extremely rich in calmodulin (Zhu, Q., and M. Clarke, 1992, J. Cell Biol. 118: 347-358). Light microscopic immunofluorescence confirmed that antibodies against the vacuolar proton pump colocalized with anti-calmodulin antibodies on these organelles. Time-lapse video recording of living amoebae imaged by interference-reflection microscopy, or by fluorescence microscopy after staining contractile vacuole membranes with potential-sensitive styryl dyes, revealed the extent and dynamic interrelationship of the cisternal and tubular elements in Dictyostelium's contractile vacuole system. The high density of proton pumps throughout its membranes suggests that the generation of a proton gradient is likely to be an important factor in the mechanism of fluid accumulation by contractile vacuoles.
Emotional Eating, Nonpurge Binge Eating, and Self-Efficacy in Healthy Perimenopausal Women

Purpose: To examine the relationships among nonpurge binge eating, emotional eating, and diet-related self-efficacy in perimenopausal women, a population at risk for weight gain. Design of Study: Descriptive correlational study. Method: Secondary analysis of baseline data for a weight gain prevention intervention, Mindful Restaurant Eating, with a sample of healthy perimenopausal women (n = 43). Findings: Controlling for age and body mass index, the binge eating severity was associated with emotional eating (partial r = .71; p ≤ .01) and was negatively associated with diet-related self-efficacy (partial r = −.49; p ≤ .05). There was a significant difference (p < .01) in emotional eating scores between women with moderate to high binge eating severity scores and those with low binge eating severity scores. Participants with higher binge eating severity also had less diet-related self-efficacy, especially with regard to resisting relapse and reducing calorie intake. Conclusions: Perhaps perceived loss of control, a central component to binge eating, negatively affects one’s ability to consistently attain dietary goals, thus affecting self-efficacy. Interventions increasing diet-related self-efficacy may prove useful in decreasing the amount of excess calories consumed because of emotional eating and/or binge eating behavior.
The automatic segmentation of the vocal signal using predictive neural network

The automatic segmentation of the vocal signal precedes the features extraction stages, respectively the emotion recognition/classification. The extraction of the prosodic parameters as fundamental frequency (F0) and formants (F1-F4) cepstral coefficients LPCC and MFCC are made only on the vowel areas. The analysis tools from the SROL corpus are using a hybrid hierarchical system with four segmentation methods based on the autocorrelation function, AMDF method, the cepstral analysis and HPS method. Since the performance of this instrument has not been yet satisfactory, we analyzed other segmentation possibilities in order to obtain the best possible accuracy in segmentation. The predictive neural network used in this paper is in fact a simple perceptron which can approximate with high accuracy the quasi-periodic signals such as the vowels. The consonants have noisy properties and are complicated transition processes. The prediction error for the consonants comparing with the vowels is higher when it is used a sample neural network architecture.
Amoebophrya spp. from the Bloom‐forming Dinoflagellate Cochlodinium polykrikoides: Parasites not Nested in the “Amoebophrya ceratii Complex”

Members of Amoebophrya ceratii complex are known to infect a number of free‐living dinoflagellates including harmful algal bloom species. In August and October 2012, Amoebophrya infections during two bloom events of the dinoflagellate Cochlodinium polykrikoides were observed along southern coastal waters of Korea. Microscopic observations and molecular data revealed that two different Amoebophrya parasites infected the same host species. In addition, while one developed in the host's nucleus, the other in the host's cytoplasm. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the two parasites were not nested in the previously recognized “Amoebophrya ceratii complex clade”, which contained sequences of parasites infecting numerous dinoflagellate species. Instead, they branched as sister taxa to the isolate (possibly Amoebophrya) from radiolarians Hexacontium gigantheum. Our result indicates that the two Amoebophrya parasites infecting C. polykrikoides may be different species from those inside the “complex. ”
Expression of the ferric enterobactin receptor (PfeA) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa: involvement of a two‐component regulatory system

Expression of the ferric enterobactin receptor in Pseudomonas aeruginosa is inducible by enterobactin and requires sequences upstream of the structural gene (pfeA). Nucleotide sequencing of a 2.5 kilo‐base pair (kb) region of DNA immediately upstream of pfeA revealed two open reading frames (ORFs), pfeR and pfeS, which appeared to comprise an operon. The predicted products of pfeR and pfeS (molecular weight 26 796 and 50 597, respectively) exhibited a high degree of homology to response‐regulator and sensor components, respectively, of the superfamily of prokaryotic environmentally responsive protein pairs. Consistent with an apparent role in regulating expression of pfeA in response to enterobactin, introduction of pfeR/pfeS into P. aeruginosa on a high‐copy‐number vector enhanced enterobactin‐dependent expression of pfeA. Furthermore, a pfeR mutant obtained by in vitro mutagenesis and gene replacement failed to express PfeA despite the presence of enterobactin in the culture medium. Analysis of the hydropathy profiles of PfeR and PfeS supported a cytoplasmic location for PfeR and a cytoplasmic membrane location for PfeS.
Sparse Restricted Perception Equilibrium

In this paper we study model selection under bounded rationality and the impact of monetary policy on the equilibrium choice of forecasting models. We use the concept of sparse rationality (developed recently by Gabaix, 2014), where paying attention to all possible variables is costly and agents can choose to over- or under-emphasize particular variables, even fully excluding some of them. Our main question is whether an initially mis-specified equilibrium (the restricted perceptions equilibrium, or RPE) is compatible with the equilibrium choice of sparse weights describing the allocation of attention to different variables by the agents inhabiting this RPE. In a simple New Keynesian model, we find that the agents stick to their initial mis-specified AR(1) forecasting model choice when monetary policy is less aggressive or inflation is more persistent. We also identify a region in the parameter space where the agents find it advantageous to pay attention to no variable at all.
A framework for knowledge management in requirements engineering

Managing knowledge properly has become a necessity in all types of professional activities, especially in those whose products are highly utilised and disseminated, such as software engineering. Because we live in a software-dependent society, this technological development requires improving the processes of understanding and manufacturing; thus, it is recommended to use knowledge as a basis to achieve such improvements. This paper presents the results of an analysis of the proposals to manage knowledge in requirements engineering, in which it is evident that the proposals fail to meet the needs of work teams. The practices evaluated in this study propose an integrated framework for the management of knowledge in RE comprised by the conjunction between the phases of knowledge and the stages of RE and characterised by including two principles of complex thought: transdisciplinarity and multidimensionality.
Development and field application of a quantitative method for examining natural assemblages of protists with oligonucleotide probes

A fluorescent in situ hybridization method that uses rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes for counting protists in cultures and environmental water samples is described. Filtration, hybridization, and enumeration of fixed cells with biotinylated eukaryote-specific probes and fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated avidin were performed directly on 0.4-microns-pore-size polycarbonate filters of Transwell cell culture inserts (Costar Corp., Cambridge, Mass.). Counts of various species of cultured protists by this probe hybridization method were not significantly different from counts obtained by the 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) and acridine orange (AO) staining methods. However, counts of total nanoplankton (TNAN) based on probe hybridizations in several field samples and in samples collected from a mesocosm experiment were frequently higher than TNAN counts obtained by staining with DAPI or AO. On the basis of these results, 25 to 70% of the TNAN determined with probes were not detectable by DAPI or AO staining. The underestimation of TNAN abundances in samples stained with DAPI or AO was attributed to the existence of small nanoplanktonic cells which could be detected with probes but not DAPI or AO and the difficulty associated with distinguishing DAPI- or AO-stained protists attached to or embedded in aggregates. We conclude from samples examined in this study that enumeration of TNAN with oligonucleotide probes provides estimates of natural TNAN abundances that are at least as high as (and in some cases higher than) counts obtained with commonly employed fluorochrome stains. The quantitative in situ hybridization method we have described here enables the direct enumeration of free-living protists in water samples with oligonucleotide probes. When combined with species-specific probes, this method will enable quantitative studies of the abundance and distribution of specific protistan taxa.
An exploration of collaborative group work with science students

Part of the transformation of education in South Africa emphasises the need to address historical barriers that have been impeding access into institutions of learning, and the need for empowering stakeholders democratically. Improving institutional responsiveness and focusing on Science, Technology, and Engineering and increasing the number of university graduates are amongst the more prominent strategies for changing the educational, socioeconomic, and political landscape within a global context. This research, as the first cycle of an action research project, explores collaborative group work with a group of science students at a Vista University campus (that is now part of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University) as a contribution to institutional, professional, and personal responsiveness. The treatise traces my development as a novice researcher within an evolving action research context that became a terrain for facilitating a collaborative approach to learning. I describe my personal experience and the experiences of my co-researchers as collaborative partners, the systemic influences considered during the study, and the process of action research that encouraged movement from feelings of apprehension and inadequacy to feelings of anticipation and excitement regarding collaborative interactive learning and development opportunities. For the co-researchers and me an action research process in an interpretivist paradigm was not just suited to an exploration of collaboration, but also evolved into a vehicle for interactive teaching and learning, in a collaborative and student-centred way. Giving voice and being listened to, having perspectives validated, engaging in learning that could accompany academic and personal growth, and an acute sense of being empowered are ingredients that participants, and institutions of learning, can continue building on and building with along evolving spirals of life-long learning and meaning making. Key Terms Action research, science students, responsiveness, collaboration, empowerment, student counselling practice, critical cross-field outcomes, action learning, group work
A 77 GHz waveform generator with MFSK modulation for automotive radar applications

In this paper, a 77 GHz waveform generator with Multiple Frequency Shift Keying (MFSK) is presented. This modulation waveform can improve the detection ability of automotive radar systems. A MFSK Modulation Control Logic (MMCL) is proposed, incorporates a conventional Σ-Δ fractional-N Phase Locked Loop to generate the modulation waveform. The MMCL has capability to track the linear frequency sweep while generating the frequency shift keying (FSK) in each time step. Prior to realizing the hardware, a behavioural simulation is considered and the output of 64 steps is generated. The modulated frequency synthesizer is designed using 130-nm CMOS process. The module of 77 GHz waveform generator, which generates 128 modulation steps, is accomplished. The bandwidth and the frequency step of the modulation are 100 MHz and 300 kHz, respectively. The results demonstrate that the proposed scheme has ability to realize the MFSK modulation waveform for automotive radar systems, also a short processing interval of 6 ms can be achieved.
4: UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORTING FULL-TIME NON-TENURE-TRACK FACULTY: A NEEDED CHANGE

As the face ofthe American faculty profession changes, targeted academic development becomes more important. A phenomenological qualitative study of full-time, non-tenure-track faculty in English portrays an experi ~nce characterized by a love of teaching but fraught with professional challenges stemming from low status and poor reward and recognition structures. These data provide the point of departure for recommenda tions on expanding organizational and faculty development strategies for supporting, integrating, and encouraging full-time, non-tenure-track faculty. The literature on faculty development is built around the traditional notion of the faculty member progressing along a stable career line, enjoying equal status with other faculty colleagues, and having relative autonomy and variety in teaching assignments. Faculty development centers often do work shops on documenting tenure dossiers, advice to developers stressesengaging "respected faculty leaders" in programming or on advisory boards, and workshops often assume that participants are free to alter their course syl labi, change course assessment methods, and develop new offerings. Enter the contingent faculty member, now among the majority of newly hired faculty members in the United States (Schuster & Finklestein, 2006).