Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic heterogeneity of synpolydactyly: a novel locus SPD3 maps to chromosome 14q11.2‐q12

Syndactyly type II or synpolydactyly (SPD) is the second most frequent syndactyly type and is inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion. The cardinal features of this malformation are the cutaneous or bony fusion of third and fourth fingers, and fourth and fifth toes associated with additional digital elements within the web. It shows incomplete penetrance and high inter‐ and intrafamilial phenotypic variability. Two loci are known for SPD (MIM 186000, MIM 608180) associated with mutations in HOXD13 and FBLN1, respectively. Here, we report further genetic heterogeneity for SDP. Employing a whole genomic screen, we demonstrate, in a large Pakistani kindred, that the classical phenotype of SPD maps on a new locus at chromosome 14q11.2‐q12. The highest LOD score (Zmax = 4.06) was obtained with microsatellite marker D14S264, and the multipoint LOD score reached a maximum of 5.01. Haplotype analysis revealed that the disease interval is flanked by microsatellite markers D14S283 and D14S1060, encompassing a physical distance of 10.72 Mb. We propose to allocate to this locus the symbol SPD3 (synpolydactyly 3), and to name the loci associated with HOXD13 or FBLN1 mutations SPD1 and SPD2, respectively.
A catalogue and analysis of local galaxy ages and metallicities

We have assembled a catalogue of relative ages, metallicities and abundance ratios for about 150 local galaxies in field, group and cluster environments. The galaxies span morphological types from cD and ellipticals, to late-type spirals. Ages and metallicities were estimated from high-quality published spectral line indices using Worthey & Ottaviani (1997) single stellar population evolutionary models. The identification of galaxy age as a fourth parameter in the fundamental plane (Forbes, Ponman & Brown 1998) is confirmed by our larger sample of ages. We investigate trends between age and metallicity, and with other physical parameters of the galaxies, such as ellipticity, luminosity and kinematic anisotropy. We demonstrate the existence of a galaxy age–metallicity relation similar to that seen for local galactic disc stars, whereby young galaxies have high metallicity, while old galaxies span a large range in metallicities. We also investigate the influence of environment and morphology on the galaxy age and metallicity, especially the predictions made by semi-analytic hierarchical clustering models (HCM). We confirm that non-cluster ellipticals are indeed younger on average than cluster ellipticals as predicted by the HCM models. However we also find a trend for the more luminous galaxies to have a higher [Mg/Fe] ratio than the lower luminosity galaxies, which is opposite to the expectation from HCM models.
Semantic Context Reasoning for Formulating User Location

More and more services rely on user localization, yet presenting a location information in an intuitive form hasn't really been studied to our knowledge. We present a method to calculate the best way to express a user's location, given a priori modeling of their knowledge about people and places, so that users can get "at a glance" information about the location of their relatives. Our approach is a first attempt at designing such a method. We present the results obtained, and discuss the many ways to improve it and to generalize the method to other context dimensions.
MRI of cardiac iron overload

Transfusion therapy has greatly improved the survival of transfusion dependent thalassemia major (TM) patients; however, the resultant iron load damages tissues including the heart, liver and endocrine organs. Among these, heart complication still remains the leading cause of mortality. Myocardial iron deposition can occur independently of other solid organ involvement; conversely, the heart may be spared despite heavy siderosis in other tissues. Iron chelation treatment diminishes the risk of hemosiderosis; however, the chelation treatment has its own toxicities and might not be available to all patients due to costs. Close monitoring of individual organ iron concentration and function is thus important for optimization of individual patient care. This review outlines the importance and clinical significance of recently available MRI techniques for monitoring cardiac iron load. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2012;36:1052–1059. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals Inc.
Understanding Causality in the Effects of Media Violence

This article places media violence research into a broader context than the typical public debate about whether violent video games (or TV programs, or movies) are “the” cause of school shootings and other extreme acts of violence. We describe how scientists today decide whether one variable (e.g., exposure to violent media) increases the risks for, contributes to, or causes another (e.g., aggressive or violent behavior). We discuss the different research methods used to examine the relationship between exposure to violent media and aggressive and violent acts. We review research evidence on the link between exposure to violent media and aggressive behavior, violent behavior, and other undesirable behavior (e.g., less helping, less empathy and compassion for others). We conclude that although exposure to violent media is not “the” cause of aggressive and violent behavior, it is an important risk factor that can contribute to more aggressive and violent behaviors, and fewer prosocial behaviors.
Theories of Government Formation and the 1996 General Election in Japan

This paper takes a number of theories that have been used to analyse government formation in West European parliamentary democracies and applies them to the government formation process in Japan after the 1996 general election. These models underline the continuing importance of the LDP in the government formation process, despite the loss of its overall majority. The application of government formation models to the Japanese case also highlights the weakness of the typical assumption that sees parties as unitary actors. The paper thus concludes with some speculations as to how this assumption might usefully be relaxed to incorporate party factions, splits and fusions and thereby generate more dynamic models of the making and breaking of governments.
Drop-charge correlations for polydisperse electrostatically atomized liquid sprays

In many applications liquid sprays are atomized using electrostatic methods, and typically these spray plumes containing drops that have a range of diameters. To understand and predict the dynamics of polydisperse electrically charged spray plumes, knowledge of how the electrical charge is distributed amongst the drops is required. This has been achieved by post-processing phase Doppler anemometry data for two electrostatically atomized liquid sprays and fitting the drop diameter-charge correlation to an assumed relationship of form q=AD/sup n/, Here q and D are drop charge and diameter and n and A are empirical constants that describe the correlation. Values of n and A were calculated to be 2.1 to 2.9 and 5.8 /spl times/10/sup -5/ for a spray of specific charge 1.8 C/m/sup 3/ and 2.1 to 3.2 and its value of A is 2.5/spl times/10/sup -4/for a spray of specific charge 1.2 C/m/sup 6/. It was found that the mean drop charge, for all drop diameters, for both data-sets, was almost always less than the drop Rayleigh limit. This latter fact gives confidence in the procedure used since no restriction was placed on this parameter during the processing. We also estimate the distribution of drop charge about the mean value and as a function of diameter and suggest that small drops possess higher rms charge levels.
The Effect of Influence Type and Performance Outcomes on Attitude toward the Influencer

The authors demonstrate that a target's attitude toward an influencer is affected by both (1) the influence type used by the influencer to achieve the target's compliance and (2) the performance outcomes that result from the behavior adopted by the target in compliance with that influence. Before performance outcomes are known, the target's satisfaction and trust are strongly affected by the type of influence exercised; more dominating influence types result in less positive attitude. When outcomes of compliance become evident, however, favorable outcomes appear to ameliorate negative attitudes, whereas unfavorable outcomes seem to undermine positive attitudes. These findings indicate the significance of performance outcomes for understanding the ramifications of successful influence.
Comparison of three clinical rating scales in Friedreich ataxia (FRDA)

To test the validity and reliability of the scale for the assessment and rating of ataxia (SARA) in Friedreich ataxia (FRDA). SARA is limited to eight items and can be performed rapidly. Ninety‐six patients with a molecular genetic diagnosis of FRDA were rated using three different clinical scales, the FRDA Rating Scale (FARS), the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS), and SARA. Despite considerable discrepancies in scale size and subscale structure, SARA total scores were significantly correlated with ICARS (r = 0.953, P < 0.0001) and FARS (r = 0.938, P < 0.0001) total scores. SARA total scores also correlated with the activities of daily living (ADL, r = 0.929, P < 0.0001). Although originally developed for the use in dominantly inherited ataxias, which are primarily ataxias of the cerebellar type, SARA can also be used successfully to assess afferent ataxia, which is the predominant form in FRDA. Because SARA is characterized by high interrater reliability and practicability, SARA is applicable and well suited forclinical trials of FRDA. © 2009 Movement Disorder Society
Reflecting and learning together: action research as a vital element of developing understanding and practice

Abstract This article details how an action research/reflective practitioner approach added value to the efforts of participants who were engaged in developing their practice and working together within a New Labour area-based policy initiative. The process of reflecting and learning together in the project supported practitioners in thinking, learning about, designing, engaging in and changing elements of their practice according to the evidence they had gathered. A key element of the article is how the notion of reflection ‘in’ action and ‘on’ action (Schön) supported people from different backgrounds and settings in understanding and developing their practice through improving self-knowledge and confidence and, in turn, their knowledge of other perspectives. The article raises issues in relation to the use of action research at the interface between micro- and macro-development, individual and group work, and worker and manager perspectives. It concludes by suggesting some of the issues that those engaged in further development of innovative, interagency and interdisciplinary projects might need to address if an action research/reflective practice model of working together for change is to be made more widely available, relevant and useful.
"WITH US ROMA": THE NARRATIVE ENGAGEMENT AND SOCIAL KNOWLEDGE OF TWO CZECH ROMANI WOMEN

This thesis explores the question of how Romani social life proceeds in a small town in the Czech Republic. It pays particular attention to the ways in which ethnicity becomes salient during interactions between Roma and Czechs. The ethnography is based upon an extended narrative engagement with two Romani women. In their narratives, a chronicle of their past, present and future lives is presented. Despite the fact that my interlocutors are dissimilar in age, level of personal autonomy and financial security, within their narratives is the expression of a local Romani narrative about ethnic relations, love, friendship and family. It is firmly situated within academic- and media-based discussions about the post-communist ‘experience’ of Czech Roma and their widely shared communist past. This thesis therefore takes into consideration the ways in which Romani individuals make sense of their social worlds through their creation of narratives. In Skala, idealized Romani sociality is composed of various threads: the authenticity of one’s moral agency, the maintenance of a cohesive family unit, a sense of cooperation and harmony with Romani non-kin, dedication to the perpetuation of a collective Romani mentality standing apart from the Czech population, and a symbiotic existence with Czechs based upon daily interaction. Throughout my interlocutors’ narratives, these components of social life are cognitively assigned to the communist era rather than the present-day. Within these women’s narratives, there is evidence of the primacy of the family as both a functional and a conceptual entity of Romani social life past and present. Today, the investment of material resources and emotional energy into one’s children is seen as the most viable means by which one may enact their personal agency as mothers within the private sphere.
The mirror does not lie: Acute exercise and self-efficacy

Although acute bouts of exercise have consistently been found to enhance self-efficacy, recent evidence suggests that the exercise environment may moderate this relation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of an acute bout of exercise performed in environments differing in self-evaluative potential on self-efficacy. Forty-three female undergraduates performed 20 min of aerobic exercise in front of and in the absence of a full-length mirror. Self-efficacy was assessed at 4 time points: before entry into the experimental condition, pre-exercise, postexercise, and 20 min postexercise. Results revealed that self-efficacy did not significantly change following exercise or recovery in the no mirror condition. However, the mirror condition resulted in moderate increases in self-efficacy postexercise and large increases following recovery. Results indicate that self-evaluation following exercise may increase one’s perceptions of capabilities and appear to be in contrast to past research demonstrating a negative effect of mirrors on self-efficacy.
COMPARISON OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS STATISTICS IN GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE HEALTH SCIENCES' STUDENTS

Many of the major decisions taken by health professionals have some statistical basis. Nowadays the interest in attitudes towards statistics has increased since there is some evidence that these can impede the effective learning of statistics and/or the correct development of useful statistical intuitions. In this work, we analyze the components of graduate (n=385) and undergraduate (n=507) health sciences students’ attitudes towards statistics through their responses to the Survey of Attitudes Towards Statistics (SATS) scale. Our results show that health sciences’ students have, in general, a positive attitude towards statistics and although graduate students value it more significantly, have better feelings and perception of self-competence, knowledge and intellectual skills, they rate it as difficult as undergraduate students.
ISOFLURANE IMPROVES SURVIVAL AND PROTECTS AGAINST RENAL AND HEPATIC INJURY IN MURINE SEPTIC PERITONITIS

We have demonstrated that volatile anesthetics reduce inflammation after renal ischemia/reperfusion injury in vivo. As hyperactive uncontrolled inflammation can lead to mortality and morbidity during early sepsis, we questioned whether the volatile anesthetic isoflurane could reduce mortality and protect against sepsis induced renal and hepatic dysfunction. Mice were anesthetized with isoflurane or with pentobarbital and subjected to cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) to induce septic peritonitis. Mice were anesthetized for an additional 3 h after CLP with either isoflurane or pentobarbital. Renal and hepatic function was assessed 24 h later and survival after CLP was assessed for 7 days. To determine if isoflurane protects by reducing inflammation, we quantified renal tubular expression of pro-inflammatory (intercellular adhesion molecule 1, tumor necrosis factor &agr; [TNF-&agr;], and interleukin [IL] 1&bgr;) messenger RNA with reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. We also measured the plasma levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-&agr;, keratinocyte-derived chemokine (KC), and IL-6 and an anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Renal cortical apoptosis was also assessed 24 h after CLP. Twenty-four hours after the septic insult, isoflurane-treated mice had significantly improved renal and hepatic function compared with mice anesthetized with pentobarbital. Renal cortices of isoflurane-treated mice had significantly reduced expression of intercellular adhesion molecule 1, TNF-&agr;, and IL-1&bgr; messenger RNA and showed less apoptosis. Isoflurane-treated mice had lower plasma levels of TNF-&agr;, KC, and IL-6. Isoflurane-anesthetized mice also had significantly prolonged and increased survival compared with pentobarbital-anesthetized mice. Therefore, isoflurane anesthesia conferred significant protection against renal and hepatic dysfunction and death after septic peritonitis and attenuated renal inflammation and apoptosis compared with pentobarbital anesthesia.
Hierarchical emotional color theme extraction

Artists usually carefully select different colors in artistic work so as to convey special visual and emotional feelings. Color theme extraction techniques can help users to acquire the color styles in an image. However, current color theme extraction methods ignore the emotional factors, and they can only provide a single theme result for an image as well, neither of which meet people's favor on different colors under different mood states. This article introduces the conception of emotional color theme, introduces the color emotion theory into color theme extraction, and proposes a novel emotion color theme extraction framework. To achieve these goals, we perform the theme extraction with emotion value of each pixel instead of color value. The emotional discrepancy is proposed between the colors in the theme to evaluate a color theme quality and prove it with color theme dataset. Then a data driven approach is adopted to optimize the color theme. Different from previous optimizing strategies, we built the emotional relation between the target theme and the candidate theme. Our method can enhance the color editing results of previous methods, e.g., for color transfer our results can demonstrate hierarchical emotions from a single reference image. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2015
Generalized Closed-Loop Control Schemes with Embedded Virtual Impedances for Voltage Source Converters with LC or LCL Filters

In this paper, a generalized closed-loop control (GCC) scheme is proposed for voltage source converters (VSCs) with LC or LCL output filters. The proposed GCC scheme has a single-loop control of inverter output (voltage or current) and two parallel virtual impedance terms using additional measurements. The virtual impedance can be the equivalent internal impedance or external impedance (or both), depending on their control term and feedback variable selection. The internal impedance term is mainly responsible for providing desired damping to the filter circuit, and the external virtual impedance term can effectively adjust the converter system closed-loop output impedance. As each term in the GCC scheme can be controlled independently, the proposed GCC scheme has great flexibility and can easily realize and explain the performances of the traditional single- and multiloop control schemes and their different variations. Moreover, the GCC scheme provides a distinct physical meaning of each control term, which makes the control parameter tuning more straightforward and robust. Additionally, as shown in this paper, the proposed GCC scheme can tackle some traditionally challenging control objectives by avoiding the harmonics filtering or derivative terms. Experimental results from laboratory VSC prototypes are obtained to validate the proposed GCC scheme.
Band artifacts due to bulk motion

Band artifacts due to bulk motion were investigated in images acquired with fast gradient echo sequences. A simple analytical calculation shows that the width of the artifacts has a square‐root dependence on the velocity of the imaged object, the time taken to acquire each line of k‐space and the field of view in the phase‐encoding direction. The theory furthermore predicts that the artifact width can be reduced using parallel imaging by a factor equal to the square root of the acceleration parameter. The analysis and results are presented for motion in the phase‐ and frequency‐encoding directions and comparisons are made between sequential and centric ordering. The theory is validated in phantom experiments, in which bulk motion is simulated in a controlled and reproducible manner by rocking the scan table back and forth along the bore axis. Preliminary cardiac studies in healthy human volunteers show that dark bands may be observed in the endocardium in images acquired with nonsegmented fast gradient echo sequences. The fact that the position of the bands changes with the phase‐encoding direction suggests that they may be artifacts due to motion of the heart walls during the image acquisition period. Magn Reson Med 48:1028–1036, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fun and friends: The impact of workplace fun and constituent attachment on turnover in a hospitality context

Extending the growing body of research on fun in the workplace, this article reports on a study examinining the relationship between fun and employee turnover. Specifically, this research focused on the influence of three forms of fun on turnover – fun activities, coworker socializing and manager support for fun. With a sample of 296 servers from 20 units of a national restaurant chain in the US, coworker socializing and manager support for fun were demonstrated to be significantly related to turnover. In addition, constituent attachment was found to mediate the relationship between each of the three forms of fun and turnover. This research highlights that not all types of fun are equal and demonstrates that one of the key means through which fun influences retention is by facilitating the development of high quality work relationships.
Retraction Notice: Construction of the Logistic Regression Estimation Model in EarlyWarning on Pure Financial Indicators

In order to establish a reasonable and effective financial crisis early warning model, the article chooses some financial indicators and uses factor analysis to get the common factors to conduct the most salient financial indicators. In the case that multirole linearity is not significant, the article uses the logistic regression to analyse eligible financial data and obtains the financial crisis warning model. Then the article found that this model has a high predictive accuracy.
A DCT based approach to epileptic seizure detection

Electro encephalogram (EEG) is a widely used tool for the clinical investigation of epileptic seizures. A new scheme of epileptic seizure detection using statistical features and Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) is presented in this paper. Median absolute deviation (MAD) and variance is taken as the discriminating features between three different classes of EEG under study. The DCT was used for feature reduction, whose ability to pack input data into as few coefficients as possible makes it a good choice for the purpose. The representative DCT coefficients were given as the input to a linear classifier to yield 100% accuracy.