Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Significance of physicochemical forms of storage in microalgae in predicting copper transfer to filter‐feeding oysters (Crassostrea gigas)

Copper distribution has been examined in two microalgae (Haslea ostrearia, Diatom; Tetraselmis suecica, Prasinophyceae) exposed to Cu at 30 μg/L−1. Exchangeable copper linked at the cell surface was desorbed using 8‐hydroxyquinoline‐5‐sulfonate as complexing agent. Then, incorporated copper was separated between soluble and insoluble fractions. In addition, algae were resuspended in acid solutions, the pHs of which covered the range existing in the digestive tract of bivalves. Considering that the soluble fraction is the most easily transferred in the food chain and that exchangeable Cu is easily desorbed, the percentages of Cu potentially available in microalgae have been assessed. These percentages have been compared with those retained in oysters Crassostrea gigas fed with contaminated microalgae in previous studies. In H. ostrearia, the potentially available fraction of Cu (90%) was very similar to the percentage retained by oysters (93%) when the bivalves were acclimated to this food for 3 weeks. Only half (21%) of the potentially available Cu of T. suecica (42%) was readily assimilated in oysters after 3 weeks. This is in agreement with the results of the desorption tests at physiological pHs which showed that only 15–25% of Cu was lost, despite solubilization of other constituents of T. suecica as demonstrated by the decrease in their dry weight. Bioavailability determined from metal speciation in food allows a relevant prediction of the trophic transfer in the case of H. ostrearia, but caution is recommended in generalizing this mode of assessment as shown in the case of T. suecica. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 21: 1–7, 2006.
SAT01-3: TCP Performance in a Hybrid Satellite Network by using ACM and ARQ

The TCP efficiency degradation in high delay- bandwidth product and error-prone channels is a well-known problem. To reduce this degradation, we utilized a hybrid wireless network architecture, where a geostationary bent-pipe satellite channel is used for forward high bit-rate transmissions, while the return link is realized through a terrestrial 3G segment. The performance of four of the most popular TCP versions are tested and compared via simulations in terms of goodput. Our aim is choosing which version performs better by using an Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM) technique, both alone and together with an Automatic Repeat reQuest (ARQ) scheme of the Selective Repeat (SR) type. ARQ is used with and without transmit and receive timeouts. The obtained results show that such a hybrid architecture is advantageous for TCP transmissions in terms of average goodput, and that ACM is effective only if used together with ARQ schemes.
A systematic comparison and evaluation of biclustering methods for gene expression data

MOTIVATION In recent years, there have been various efforts to overcome the limitations of standard clustering approaches for the analysis of gene expression data by grouping genes and samples simultaneously. The underlying concept, which is often referred to as biclustering, allows to identify sets of genes sharing compatible expression patterns across subsets of samples, and its usefulness has been demonstrated for different organisms and datasets. Several biclustering methods have been proposed in the literature; however, it is not clear how the different techniques compare with each other with respect to the biological relevance of the clusters as well as with other characteristics such as robustness and sensitivity to noise. Accordingly, no guidelines concerning the choice of the biclustering method are currently available. RESULTS First, this paper provides a methodology for comparing and validating biclustering methods that includes a simple binary reference model. Although this model captures the essential features of most biclustering approaches, it is still simple enough to exactly determine all optimal groupings; to this end, we propose a fast divide-and-conquer algorithm (Bimax). Second, we evaluate the performance of five salient biclustering algorithms together with the reference model and a hierarchical clustering method on various synthetic and real datasets for Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Arabidopsis thaliana. The comparison reveals that (1) biclustering in general has advantages over a conventional hierarchical clustering approach, (2) there are considerable performance differences between the tested methods and (3) already the simple reference model delivers relevant patterns within all considered settings.
‘High-jinks’ and ‘minor mischief’: a study of undergraduate students as perpetrators of crime

Although there is a growing interest in the victimisation of university students, the issue of student offending has been largely overlooked in the criminology and education literatures. Based on a self-report study of 1215 undergraduate students at UK higher education institutions, this article explores the level and nature of student perpetration of criminal acts whilst at university, as well as students’ understandings and rationalisations of their criminal behaviours. Whilst the data show the majority of students to be involved in what can be classed as minor, and often anti-social, offending rather than more serious crime, there was also a sense from respondents that such offences were often an accepted and sometimes expected part of the everyday ‘student experience’. The article, therefore, goes on to discuss the extent to which student offending is part of a distinct ‘undergraduate habitus’, rather than being merely symptomatic of general societal trends of young people and crime. The article concludes by considering what implications this analysis may have for future attempts to address student offending by universities and crime enforcement authorities.
An examination of gender differences in the impact of individual and organisational factors on work hours, work-life conflict and psychological strain in academics

The current study used multi-group structural equation modelling (SEM) to test a fully and partially mediated Extended Rational Model of Work-Life Conflict and examine the impact of job involvement, workaholism, work intensity, organisational expectations and support, and having children on work hours, work-life conflict and psychological strain in male and female academics. In total, 410 academics from three Irish universities completed an electronic questionnaire survey. Results indicated both commonalities and differences in the factors that influence work hours, work-life conflict and levels of psychological strain in men and women. Lower organisation expectations predicted longer working hours in both men and women; additional unique predictors of longer working hours in men were higher work intensity and having children; conversely, higher work enjoyment predicted longer working hours in women, but not men. Higher work intensity predicted higher work-life conflict in men and women. In the final best.
The effect of chemical ablation of the endocardium on ventricular fibrillation threshold.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of ablation of the superficial endocardium and Purkinje network on left ventricular fibrillation threshold. Lugol's solution was applied through small ventriculotomies to the left and right ventricular endocardium of 10 dogs on cardiopulmonary bypass. Two control groups of five animals each underwent either endocardial application of saline or epicardial application of Lugol's solution. Ventricular fibrillation threshold was measured before and after each intervention by the single-stimulus technique. Application of Lugol's solution to the endocardium resulted in a 102 +/- 15% increase in ventricular fibrillation threshold from a control value of 26 +/- 2 to 53 +/- 6 mA (p less than .005). In two animals, ventricular fibrillation could not be initiated postoperatively. In the control groups, there were no significant changes in ventricular fibrillation threshold. Histologic examination revealed that Lugol's solution obliterated less than 0.5 mm of superficial endocardium while sparing the adjacent myocardium. Electrophysiologic and rheologic data confirmed the discrete nature of the chemical injury. Thus ablation of the superficial ventricular endocardium with Lugol's solution results in a profound increase in the ventricular fibrillation threshold with only minimal tissue destruction.
Parliament in the Age of the Internet

Offering a response to the crisis of political communication, this text examines the potential applications of new information and communication technologies to the political process. Its contributors explore the question of whether the immense developments in the means of communicating information (based upon digital technologies, the convergence of computers and telecommunications, and the extraordinary development of internet technology) profoundly affect the way that parliamentary democracy operates.
A History of Alcohol Dependence Increases the Incidence and Severity of Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction in Cardiac Surgical Patients

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) commonly occurs after cardiac surgery. We tested the hypothesis that a history of alcohol dependence is associated with an increased incidence and severity of POCD in male patients undergoing cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass. Recent verbal and nonverbal memory and executive functions were assessed before and one week after surgery in patients with or without a history of alcohol dependence. Cognitive function was significantly reduced after cardiac surgery in patients with versus without a history of alcohol dependence. The results suggest that a history of alcohol dependence increases the incidence and severity of POCD after cardiac surgery.
The relationship between Family Cohesion and Intimacy in Dating Relationship: A Study Based on Attachment and Exchange Theories

This study aims at studying the relationship between family cohesion and intimacy in dating relationship among dating couples in Hong Kong. It also examines the gender differential in the relationship in a dataset including 22 pairs of dating partners. Existing researches tend to use attachment theory to explain the relationship. This research examines the relevance of exchange theory to the relationships as well. Comparison of the effect of two theories on the relationship is included in the study. It is expected that attachment has a positive effect on the relationship while exchange factors have negative ones. Results of current study showed the preliminary effects among the variables. Gender differential was found in the relationship. Unexpected findings denoted that the relationship was stronger among male respondents. Results indicated that an indirect effect existed among female and this perhaps due to the intimacy in female can be influenced by many factors. All in all, it is found that exchange theory provides a better explanation for relationship than attachment theory. Additionally, the different nature between family and dating relationship was found. It is suggested that time spent together is essential in romantic relationship. The findings are applicable to related programs such as premarital counseling to raise program effectiveness.
Severe underreporting of energy intake in normal weight subjects: use of an appropriate standard and relation to restrained eating

Abstract Objective: To assess the influence of different standards and restrained eating on underreporting in healthy, non-obese, weight-stable young subjects. Design and subjects: Eighty-three young adults (20–38 years, 55 women, 28 men) were assessed under weight-stable conditions with a 7-day dietary record and the three-factor eating questionnaire by Stunkard and Messick. Resting energy expenditure (REE; indirect calorimetry) plus data derived from physical activity records (PA) (Standard 1) or REE times an activity factor (AF) (Standard 2) was used as standard for total energy expenditure (TEE). For comparison, doubly labelled water (DLW) was used to measure TEE in a subgroup of subjects. Results: There was an association between self-reported energy intake and Standard 2 (r = 0.72) but not with Standard 1. When compared with DLW both calculated standards were inaccurate, but Standard 2 avoided high levels of overreporting. Using Standard 2 to identify ‘severe’ underreporting (SU; as defined by a deviation of energy intake (EI) and TEE of >20%), SU was seen in 37% of all subjects. It was more frequently found in women than in men (49% of women, 14.3% of men, P < 0.05). Underreporting subjects had a reduced EI (P < 0.01) but there were no significant differences in nutritional status (body weight and height, body mass index, fat mass and fat-free mass), energy expenditure and the proportion of energy from macronutrients between normal and underreporting subjects. However, high restraint was associated with a higher degree of underreporting in the total group, whereas disinhibition had an influence only in men. Conclusions: A high prevalence of SU is seen in non-obese subjects. Characteristics of eating behaviour (restraint and disinhibition) were associated with underreporting but seemed to have a different influence in men and women.
'Virtual' intimacies? Families communicating across transnational contexts

Many analyses of the uses of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) focus on factors such as gender, class and communication infrastructures in explaining how and whether people communicate across distance. In this article, I argue that such analyses fail to capture the full complexity of ICT use. I use the results of a large qualitative study of transnational families, conducted in Australia, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Iran, Singapore and New Zealand, to examine how and whether kin maintain contact across time and space. The research demonstrates that ICTs are more available for some people than for others. However, also and possibly more important in the decisions people make about using particular com- munication technologies are the social and cultural contexts of family life, which render some ICTs more desirable than others at specific points in time. Acknowledg- ing this provides an important corrective to economic analyses of transnationalism, and contributes to theorizing and documenting the role of ICTs in the maintenance of transnational social networks. When Arturo Escobar (1994) welcomed us to Cyberia, he was encouraging anthro- pologists to step outside a discipline that continued to be ordered by concerns with the differences between the modern and the savage. Instead, he asked us to use the new attention to cyberculture - specifically, information and communication technologies and biotechnologies - to rejuvenate what anthropology is really about: 'the story of life as it has been lived and is being lived at this very moment' (Escobar 1994: 223). The terms 'cyberia' and 'cyberculture' invoked the radical newness of the contexts that anthropologists might begin to explore as they charted the implications, con- sequences and contexts of the construction of these new technologies. In Escobar's account, cyberculture is acknowledged as emerging out of the familiar sociocultural environment of modernity. However, Cyberia is also presented as an exotic new land, in which we might imagine a future of cyborgs, cyberspaces and cyberpunks, among other exciting innovations. In this exotic world, the virtual competes with and in many respects supplants the 'real' world even as it evades being restricted to that world. This prospect of a virtual environment allows Escobar to anticipate utopian visions of a future where 'anthropological studies of cybercultures can help us to imagine contexts in which possibilities for relating to technoculture that do not exacerbate the power imbalances in society might emerge' (Escobar 1994: 221).
Characterization of the ftsZ gene from Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Rickettsia rickettsii, and use as a differential PCR target.

Degenerate primers corresponding to highly conserved regions of previously characterized ftsZ genes were used to PCR amplify a portion of the ftsZ gene from the genomic DNA of Ehrlichia chaffeensis (ftsZ(Ech)), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (ftsZ(Ap)), and Rickettsia rickettsii (ftsZ(Rr)). Genome walking was then used to amplify the 5' and 3' termini of the genes. The DNA sequences of the resulting amplification products yielded open reading frames coding for proteins with molecular masses of 42.0, 45.7, and 48.3 kDa for A. phagocytophilum, E. chaffeensis, and R. rickettsii, respectively. These homologs are 20 to 70 amino acids longer than the FtsZ proteins characterized in bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, but do not possess the large extended carboxyl-termini found in the FtsZ proteins of Bartonella, Rhizobium, and Agrobacterium species. The functional domains important for FtsZ activity are conserved within the ehrlichial and rickettsial FtsZ protein sequences. The R. rickettsii FtsZ sequence is highly homologous to the FtsZ protein previously described for Rickettsia prowazekii (89% identity), and identical to the FtsZ protein of Rickettsia conorii. The percent identity observed between the A. phagocytophilum and E. chaffeensis FtsZ proteins is only 79% and is particularly low in the carboxyl-terminal region (15.8% identity). Primers were designed to PCR amplify a portion of the variable carboxyl-terminal region of the ftsZ gene, and used to differentiate each agent based on the size of the amplicons: A. phagocytophilum, 278 bp; E. chaffeensis, 341 bp; and Rickettsia spp. , 425 bp.
Generalized Belief Propagation to break trapping sets in LDPC codes

In this paper, we focus on the Generalized Belief Propagation (GBP) algorithm to solve trapping sets in Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) codes. Trapping sets are topological structures in Tanner graphs of LDPC codes that are not correctly decoded by Belief Propagation (BP), leading to exhibit an error-floor in the Bit-Error Rate (BER). Stemming from statistical physics of spin glasses, GBP consists in passing messages between clusters of Tanner graph nodes in another graph called the region-graph. Here, we introduce a specific clustering of nodes, based on a novel local loopfree principle, that breaks trapping sets such that the resulting region-graph is locally loopfree. We then construct a hybrid decoder made of BP and GBP that proves to be a powerful decoder as it clearly improves the BER and defeats the error-floor.
Institutional Work: Refocusing Institutional Studies of Organization

In this paper, we discuss an alternative focus for institutional studies of organization - the study of institutional work. Research on institutional work examines the practices of individual and collective actors aimed at creating, maintaining, and disrupting institutions. Our focus in this paper is on the distinctiveness of institutional work as a field of study and the potential it provides for the examination of new questions. We argue that research on institutional work can contribute to bringing the individual back into institutional theory, help to re-examine the relationship between agency and institutions, and provide a bridge between critical and institutional views of organization.
ElaD, a Deubiquitinating Protease Expressed by E. coli

Background Ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like proteins (Ubl) are designed to modify polypeptides in eukaryotes. Covalent binding of ubiquitin or Ubls to substrate proteins can be reversed by specific hydrolases. One particular set of cysteine proteases, the CE clan, which targets ubiquitin and Ubls, has homologs in eukaryotes, prokaryotes, and viruses. Findings We have cloned and analyzed the E. coli protein elaD, which is distantly related to eukaryotic CE clan members of the ULP/SENP protease family that are specific for SUMO and Nedd8. Previously misannotated as a putative sulfatase/phosphatase, elaD is an efficient and specific deubiquitinating enzyme in vitro. Interestingly, elaD is present in all intestinal pathogenic E. coli strains, but conspicuously absent from extraintestinal pathogenic strains (ExPECs). Further homologs of this protease can be found in Acanthamoeba Polyphaga Mimivirus, and in Alpha-, Beta-and Gammaproteobacteria. Conclusion The expression of ULP/SENP-related hydrolases in bacteria therefore extends to plant pathogens and medically relevant strains of Escherichia coli, Legionella pneumophila, Rickettsiae, Chlamydiae, and Salmonellae, in which the elaD ortholog sseL has recently been identified as a virulence factor with deubiquitinating activity. As a counterpoint, our phylogenetic and functional examination reveals that ancient eukaryotic ULP/SENP proteases also have the potential of ubiquitin-specific hydrolysis, suggesting an early common origin of this peptidase clan.
Changing Familial Roles for Immigrant Adolescents From the Former Soviet Union to Israel

This article examines how young immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union during their adolescence perceive and cope with the resulting changes in their family roles. Data collected via interviews and focus groups from adolescents and young adults (N = 34) revealed six distinct roles: language broker, family navigator, breadwinner, cultural broker, self-caretaker, and counselor. These roles were reported to generate negative effects (e.g., lost childhood, distress) and simultaneously positive effects (e.g., gaining independence, life-experience). Various mechanisms facilitated coping, including help from friends and family, self-strength, and a sense of meaning. The findings challenge traditional views of role reversal and broaden the perspective on role change in immigration. This article discusses the importance of cultural context as well as implications of the findings for theory, research, and practice.
Energy-efficient resource management for massive MIMO systems

In massive MIMO systems, both energy efficiency (EE) and spectral efficiency (SE) have been recognized as important metrics for future communication system design. This paper investigates joint optimization of spatial and power resources to maximize the EE with guaranteed data rate requirement in downlink multiuser systems. Benefiting from the orthogonality of multiple propagation channels, the optimal number of antennas and radiated power are derived with closed forms. Analysis and simulation results demonstrate that when the circuit power consumed by each antenna decreases, configuring more antennas and radiating less power is more helpful to save energy. The SE points corresponding to the maximum EE decreases with the circuit power.
Personality and Social Group Value Determinants of Out-Group Bias

In two separate studies out-group bias was examined in relationship to personality traits of prejudice with Gough’s Prejudice/Tolerance (Pr/To) scale and ascribed social group values. In Study 1 conducted with a Chilean sample, results of a hierarchical multiple regression revealed that perceived in-group/out-group value dissimilarity (based on the Schwartz Value Survey) and Pr/To independently predicted negative stereotyping of indigenous Chilean people (Mapuches Indians). In Study 2 findings with a U.S. Asian- Pacific sample indicated that Pr/To and ascription to filial piety predicted anti-Semitic attitudes. In both studies, Pr/To significantly improved the prediction of out-group bias after in-group social values had been accounted for in the regression model.