Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptational assistance in clusters of bacterial chemoreceptors

Sensory adaptation of low‐abundance chemoreceptors in Escherichia coli requires assistance from high‐abundance receptors, because only high‐abundance receptors carry the carboxyl‐terminal pentapeptide sequence NWETF that enhances adaptational covalent modification. Using membrane vesicles containing both high‐abundance receptor Tar and low‐abundance receptor Trg, we observed effective assistance in vitro for all three adaptational modifications: methylation, demethylation and deamidation. These results demonstrated that adaptational assistance involves not only the previously documented assistance for methylation but also assistance for the two CheB‐catalysed reactions. We determined rates of assisted methylation and demethylation at many ratios of assisting to assisted receptor. Analysis by a model of assistance indicated one Tar dimer could assist seven Trg dimers in methylation or five in demethylation, defining assistance neighbourhoods. These neighbourhoods were larger than a trimer of homodimers, required only receptors and were minimally affected by formation of signalling complexes. Time courses of assisted Trg methylation in membranes with low amounts of Tar showed that assisting receptors did not diffuse beyond initial neighbourhoods for at least two hours. Taken together, these observations indicate that chemoreceptors can form stable neighbourhoods larger than trimers in the absence of other chemotaxis proteins. Such interactions are likely to occur in natural receptor clusters in vivo.
Dimensional reduction of fermions in brane worlds of the Gross-Neveu model

We study the dimensional reduction of fermions, both in the symmetric and in the broken phase of the 3-d Gross-Neveu model at large N. In particular, in the broken phase we construct an exact solution for a stable brane world consisting of a domain wall and an anti-wall. A left-handed 2-d fermion localized on the domain wall and a right-handed fermion localized on the anti-wall communicate with each other through the 3-d bulk. In this way they are bound together to form a Dirac fermion of mass m. As a consequence of asymptotic freedom of the 2-d Gross-Neveu model, the 2-d correlation length � = 1/m increases exponentially with the brane separation. Hence, from the low-energy point of view of a 2-d observer, the separation of the branes appears very small and the world becomes indistinguishable from a 2-d space-time. Our toy model provides a mechanism for brane stabilization: branes made of fermions may be stable due to their baryon asymmetry. Ironically, our brane world is stable only if it has an extreme baryon asymmetry with all states in this “world” being completely filled.
A policy problem that cannot escape its past – constraints on the reformation of safety policy

Within many current policy theories there is a tendency to first identify change and then explain it. A retrospective analysis of policy changes risks missing continuous processes and struggles for change as well as mechanisms of resistance to change. Taking this as a point of departure, this paper develops an understanding of the policy process as a struggle over meaning, as a way to allow for a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of policy change and continuity. This approach is illustrated by an analysis of the formation of public safety policy in Sweden. Alternative storylines giving ‘new’ meanings to the policy problem were strategically incorporated into the policy discourse. However, it is found that an ideational path-dependency of the policy constrains the possibility for problem reformulation and thereby also the possibility for policy change. The discourses that instantiated the policy problem not only affect the ways in which the problem is rendered thinkable for the purposes of its government, but also for policy analysts as well as the public. The analysis shows that it is crucial to understand the interrelations between different discourses (within policy, politics and research) to understand the mechanisms of policy change and continuity.
A Behavioral Theory of the Merger Dynamics of the integration process

During the idiosyncratic process of post-merger integration, how do the pre-existing characteristics of the two merging organizations influence the behavioral dynamics of the combined entity? This thesis proposal describes an investigation into the dynamics during the complex and vulnerable integration process along three fundamental dimensions: (a) knowledge transfer, (b) culture transmission, and (c) organization performance. While each has been studied intensely in the broad realm of organization research, there remains a void of comprehensive research in the particular context of a merger. This thesis takes an attribute-based view of the pre-merger organizations to investigate the post-merger organizational dynamics. To explore the post-merger behavioral dynamics, I will examine organizational constructs such as: structural complexity; cultural complexity; team interdependence, infrastructure support; actor specialization orientation; cultural adaptation pressure; cultural fit tolerance, and organization performance. The methodological approach to exploring these dynamics is to conduct virtual experiments using computer simulation. The controlled experiments are designed and grounded according to prior empirical research and theoretic literature on organization behavior. The computational model for the simulation is based on the Construct model of social behavior, which has an established history of use in the social and organizational research realm. The Construct model applies the agent-based paradigm, which equips the model for incorporating the representational structures and theoretic dynamics of the social theory collectively known as the Carnegie School, i.e., Dynamic Network Analysis and the Information-Processing theory of social exchange. Construct embodies concepts such as social exchange theory, transactive memory, organizational routines, acculturation, and group decision-making, among relevant other established principles. The various processes and outcomes of these experiments will be validated by subject-matter experts and involve an extensive comparison to prior scholarly works. This study will make substantial contribution to the knowledge about post-merger integration dynamics. Beyond the fresh findings about post-merger integration dynamics, this thesis will be the first scholarly work to undertake the development of a comprehensive computational model of the organizational merger-integration process. Moreover, it will break new ground by providing the first detailed and comprehensively complete dataset of the merger integration. This work will enable future scholars to study integration dynamics at a resolution impossible in an empirical or human-laboratory study. Furthermore, the data produced in this proposal will allow for substantiated hypothesis development and extensive data analysis that, in the future, may provide additional insight and further support for previous, traditionally-based post-merger integration research.
Expertise modulates hemispheric asymmetry in holistic processing: Evidence from Chinese character processing

Holistic processing (HP) has been proposed to be a characteristic of right hemisphere (RH) processing. Here we test this claim using the divided visual field paradigm with Chinese character stimuli. HP is assessed through the composite paradigm, which is commonly used in perceptual expertise research. We found that in novice Chinese readers, a standard HP pattern emerged only in the left visual field/RH but not in the right visual field/left hemisphere, consistent with the analytic/holistic hemispheric dichotomy in the literature. However, in expert Chinese readers, neither visual field showed the HP pattern, consistent with the finding that reduced HP is an expertise maker for Chinese character recognition. Thus, the RH does not always employ holistic processing; it depends on the perceivers’ experience with the stimuli. This is the first study demonstrating that expertise with a visual object type can modulate hemispheric difference in HP.
Revs and Psychos: Role, Impact and Interaction of Sport Chaplains and Sport Psychologists within English Premiership Soccer

Despite an increased focus on spirituality and athlete well-being in sport (Watson, 2011), there is limited research regarding those who provide support to the athlete in these areas. The aim of this study was to explore the practice of sport psychologists and sport chaplains within professional soccer, and identify potential for working partnerships. By interviewing three psychologists and four chaplains who are employed currently within English Premiership soccer, it was revealed that significant overlap in their roles existed. The psychologists and chaplains identified barriers that restricted support offered to players, which may be addressed by working cooperatively in the future.
Script- and cluster-based UCT for StarCraft

Controlling units in real-time strategy (RTS) games is a challenging problem in Artificial Intelligence (AI) as these games are fast-paced with simultaneous moves and massive branching factors. This paper presents two extensions to the algorithm UCT Considering Durations (UCTCD) for finding optimal sequences of actions to units engaged in combat using the RTS game StarCraft as a test bed. The first extension uses a script-based approach inspired by Portfolio Greedy Search and searches for sequences of scripts instead of actions. The second extension uses a cluster-based approach as it assigns scripts to clusters of units based on their type and position. Our results show that both our script-based and cluster-based UCTCD extensions outperform the original UCTCD with a winning percentage of 100% with 32 units or more. Additionally, our results show that unit clustering gives some improvement in large scenarios while it is less effective in small combats. We suggest further research of the behavior and possible variants of the cluster-based approach which can be applied to many other algorithms similarly to UCT. The algorithms were tested in our StarCraft combat simulator called JarCraft, a complete Java translation of the original C++ package SparCraft, made in hopes of making this research area more accessible.
Values and psychological contracts in their relationship to commitment in the workplace

Purpose – This paper aims to examine relationships between individual‐level values, psychological contracts, and six workplace commitment forms (organizational, occupational, group, work, job, union). It also seeks to examine whether individual values and psychological contracts relate to commitment forms when controlling for demographic variables.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 313 employees of a major bank in Israel took part in this survey study.Findings – The findings show that individual values, particularly those that represent more traditional and conservative values, relate to commitment forms above and beyond the effect of the demographic variables. The results also show strong positive relationships between relational contracts and all of the commitment forms.Research limitations/implications – The study relied upon a snapshot‐in‐time survey design. Such a design consists of a single observation with no control group and limited control over the effects of variables. Also, only one prof.
Throughput and Delay in Heterogeneous Cognitive Radio Networks with Cooperative Secondary Users

In this paper,1 we investigate the throughput and delay in heterogeneous cognitive radio networks (HCRN), where the data source and the destination (S-D) is heterogeneously distributed following a rank based model and secondary users (SUs) provide relay service for primary users (PUs). We consider two scenarios: 1) PUs and SUs are both static; and 2) PUs are static and SUs are mobile. For scenario 1, we show that the primary network throughput is the same for different heterogeneous extents of S-D distribution owing to the flexible assistance of SUs, while the throughput of secondary networks is proven to be changing with the S-D heterogeneity exponent α, which depicts the variation of different heterogeneous extents of S-D distribution. In addition, the delay of both primary and secondary networks are shown to be altering with α. Further, we reveal that the number of SUs required to assist PUs can be dramatically reduced when considering the S-D heterogeneity, while achieving the same primary network throughput. For scenario 2, we utilize a modified uniform mobility (MUM) model to depict the motion of SUs and mainly focus on the analysis of throughput and delay for primary networks. It shows that the primary network throughput is also free of the heterogeneous extent of S-D distribution, while the delay changes with α. Due to the mobility of SUs, a better delay-throughput tradeoff of primary networks is achieved compared with that in scenario 1.
Undernutrition among Adult Dhimals of Naxalbari, West Bengal: Comparison with other Tribes of Eastern India

Background The tribes of India comprise approximately 8% of the total population of the country, which probably has the largest number of tribal communities in the world. In general, the tribal populations are among the most underprivileged and undernourished people in India. Objectives To determine the anthropometric characteristics and prevalence of undernutrition, based on body mass index (BMI), of adult Dhimals, a tribal population of Naxalbari, West Bengal, India, and to compare these results with those from four other tribes of Eastern India: the Bathudis, Kora Mudis, Santals, and Savars. Methods A total of 305 adult (18 years or older) Dhimals (159 men and 146 women) from three villages (Maniram, Hatighisa, and Buraganj) in the Mallabari area of Naxalbari were studied. These villages are located 5 km from Siliguri town, which is approximately 580 km from Kolkata, the provincial capital of West Bengal. Anthropometric measurements included height and weight. BMI was calculated by the standard equation. Undernutrition was evaluated according to World Health Organization (WHO) cutoff points. Results The overall prevalence of undernutrition (BMI < 18.5) was very high (36.4%). The prevalence was significantly higher in women than in men (46.4% vs. 27.0%; χ2 = 12.54; p < .001; odds ratio, 2.35). According to the WHO criterion, the prevalence of undernutrition was high and the situation was serious in men. Among women, the prevalence of undernutrition was very high and the situation was critical. However, in general, compared with other tribal people of eastern India except the Santals, adult Dhimals had better anthropometric and nutritional profiles. Conclusions This study provides evidence that although the anthropometric and nutritional profiles of adult Dhimals are better than those of some of the other tribal populations of eastern India, immediate appropriate nutritional intervention programs are needed for implementation among this ethnic group.
Discriminative training of WFST factors with application to pronunciation modeling

One of the most popular speech recognition architectures consists of multiple components (like the acoustic, pronunciation and language models) that are modeled as weighted finite state transducer (WFST) factors in a cascade. These factor WFSTs are typically trained in isolation and combined efficiently for decoding. Recent work has explored jointly estimating parameters for these models using considerable amounts of training data. We propose an alternative approach to selectively train factor WFSTs in such an architecture, while still leveraging information from the entire cascade. This technique allows us to effectively estimate parameters of a factor WFST using relatively small amounts of data, if the factor is small. Our approach involves an online training paradigm for linear models adapted for discriminatively training one or more WFSTs in a cascade. We apply this method to train a pronunciation model for recognition on conversational speech, resulting in significant improvements in recognition performance over the baseline model.
Covariate-adjusted marginal cumulative incidence curves for competing risk analysis

Covariate imbalance between treatment groups makes it difficult to compare cumulative incidence curves in competing risk analyses. In this paper we discuss different methods to estimate adjusted cumulative incidence curves including inverse probability of treatment weighting and outcome regression modeling. For these methods to work, correct specification of the propensity score model or outcome regression model, respectively, is needed. We introduce a new doubly robust estimator, which requires correct specification of only one of the two models. We conduct a simulation study to assess the performance of these three methods, including scenarios with model misspecification of the relationship between covariates and treatment and/or outcome. We illustrate their usage in a cohort study of breast cancer patients estimating covariate-adjusted marginal cumulative incidence curves for recurrence, second primary tumour development and death after undergoing mastectomy treatment or breast-conserving therapy. Our study points out the advantages and disadvantages of each covariate adjustment method when applied in competing risk analysis.
RicMonk: A Three-Link Brachiation Robot with Passive Grippers for Energy-Efficient Brachiation

This paper presents the design, analysis, and performance evaluation of RicMonk, a novel three-link brachiation robot equipped with passive hook-shaped grippers. Brachiation, an agile and energy-efficient mode of locomotion observed in primates, has inspired the development of RicMonk to explore versatile locomotion and maneuvers on ladder-like structures. The robot's anatomical resemblance to gibbons and the integration of a tail mechanism for energy injection contribute to its unique capabilities. The paper discusses the use of the Direct Collocation methodology for optimizing trajectories for the robot's dynamic behaviors and stabilization of these trajectories using a Time-varying Linear Quadratic Regulator. With RicMonk we demonstrate bidirectional brachiation, and provide comparative analysis with its predecessor, AcroMonk - a two-link brachiation robot, to demonstrate that the presence of a passive tail helps improve energy efficiency. The system design, controllers, and software implementation are publicly available on GitHub and the video demonstration of the experiments can be viewed YouTube.
How shrub encroachment under climate change could threaten pollination services for alpine wildflowers: A case study using the alpine skypilot, Polemonium viscosum

Abstract Under climate change, shrubs encroaching into high altitude plant communities disrupt ecosystem processes. Yet effects of encroachment on pollination mutualisms are poorly understood. Here, we probe potential fitness impacts of interference from encroaching Salix (willows) on pollination quality of the alpine skypilot, Polemonium viscosum. Overlap in flowering time of Salix and Polemonium is a precondition for interference and was surveyed in four extant and 25 historic contact zones. Pollinator sharing was ascertained from observations of willow pollen on bumble bees visiting Polemonium flowers and on Polemonium pistils. We probed fitness effects of pollinator sharing by measuring the correlation between Salix pollen contamination and seed set in naturally pollinated Polemonium. To ascertain whether Salix interference occurred during or after pollination, we compared seed set under natural pollination, conspecific pollen addition, and Salix pollen addition. In current and past contact zones Polemonium and Salix overlapped in flowering time. After accounting for variance in flowering date due to latitude, Salix and Polemonium showed similar advances in flowering under warmer summers. This trend supports the idea that sensitivity to temperature promotes reproductive synchrony in both species. Salix pollen is carried by bumble bees when visiting Polemonium flowers and accounts for up to 25% of the grains on Polemonium pistils. Salix contamination correlates with reduced seed set in nature and when applied experimentally. Postpollination processes likely mediate these deleterious effects as seed set in nature was not limited by pollen delivery. Synthesis: As willows move higher with climate change, we predict that they will drive postpollination interference, reducing the fitness benefits of pollinator visitation for Polemonium and selecting for traits that reduce pollinator sharing.
Long-term impact of stroke on family caregiver well-being

Objective: Three-year changes in well-being were studied among family caregivers of an epidemiologically derived sample of stroke survivors from the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study and compared to matched noncaregivers. Methods: Family caregivers of REGARDS participants who experienced a stroke event completed telephone interviews assessing depressive symptoms, mental and physical health quality of life (QOL), life satisfaction, and leisure satisfaction at approximately 9, 18, 27, and 36 months after the stroke (n = 235). For each stroke caregiver, a family member of a stroke-free REGARDS participant was enrolled as a matched noncaregiving control (n = 235) and completed similar interviews. Results: Multilevel longitudinal models found that caregivers showed poorer well-being at 9 months poststroke than controls on all measures except physical health QOL. Significant differences were sustained for 22 months after the stroke event for depressive symptoms, 31 months for mental health QOL, and 15 months for life satisfaction. For leisure satisfaction, differences were still significant at 36 months poststroke. Caregiving effects were similar across race and sex. Conclusions: Stroke caregiving is associated with persistent psychological distress, but life satisfaction, depression, and mental health QOL became comparable to noncaregivers by 3 years after stroke. Caregiver leisure satisfaction was chronically lower than in noncaregivers. Intervention for stroke caregivers should recognize both the strains faced by caregivers and their capacity for successful coping over time.
Report on a Systematic Review of the Efficacy and Clinical Effectiveness of Group Analysis and Analytic/Dynamic Group Psychotherapy

This article reports on a systematic review to assess the efficacy and clinical effectiveness of group analysis and analytic/dynamic (A/D) group psychotherapy. Systematic literature searches were undertaken; 34 primary studies and 19 reviews met the inclusion criteria and their data was extracted. Of the primary studies, the randomized controlled trials provided evidence for the efficacy and clinical effectiveness of group therapy approaches in a range of clinical problems, but not for specific benefits of any particular theoretical approach. The controlled studies and observational studies gave support for the use of group psychotherapy in a variety of conditions. The review of reviews confirms that group therapies in general are more effective than wait list or standard care controls. Methodological challenges encountered and recommendations for further research are presented, along with a more detailed discussion of the implications of the review for the research community.