Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Gamma Irradiation or Potassium on Some Primary and Secondary Metabolites of Brassica rapa (L.) Root Under Cadmium Stress

The effect of cadmium chloride concentrations (25 50 75 and 100 mg/kg soil), seeds pre-irradiated by low doses of gamma rays (15 30 45 and 60 Gy), potassium chloride (60 mg/kg soil) and the combination of cadmium with gamma and cadmium with potassium on Brassica rapa primary and secondary metabolites at different growth stages were investigated. It was found that, combination of low doses of gamma or potassium with cadmium significantly increased the root soluble protein content at the various growth stages compared with the content of plants singly treated with cadmium. Proline, alkaloids and phenolic compounds were accumulated in roots in response to cadmium compared with the control and their accumulation was magnified by gamma irradiation. This suggested an important role for these compounds in plant response to cadmium pollution.
In-cement technique of revision hip arthroplasty.

Sir, I read with interest the article by Quinlan et al[1][1] in the June 2006 issue entitled “In-cement technique for revision hip arthroplasty. ” The technique of in-cement revision hip arthroplasty[1][1],[2][2] is neither new nor without problems. [3][3] Li et al[4][4] pointed out that the
Efficient Genre-Specific Semantic Video Indexing

Large video collections such as YouTube contain many different video genres, while in many applications the user might be interested in one or two specific video genres only. Thus, when users are querying the system with a specific semantic concept like AnchorPerson, and MovieStars, they are likely aiming a genre specific instantiation of this concept. Existing methods treat this problem as a classical learning problem leading to unnecessarily complex models. We propose a framework to detect visual-based genre-specific concepts in a more efficient and accurate way. We do so by using a two-step framework distinguishing two different levels. Genre-specific concept models are trained based on a training set with data labeled at video level for genres and at shot level for semantic concepts. In the classification stage, video genre classification is applied first to reduce the entire data set to a relatively small subset. Then, the genre-specific concept models are applied to this subset only. Experiments have been conducted on a small 28-h data set for genre-specific concept detection and a 4168-h (80 \thinspace031 videos) benchmark data set for genre-specific topic search. Experimental results show that our proposed two-step method is more efficient and effective than existing methods which do not consider the different semantic levels between video genres and semantic concepts for both the indexing and the search tasks. When filtering out 80% of the data set, the average performance loss is about 11.3% for genre-specific concept detection and 31.5% for genre-specific topic search, while the processing speed increases hundreds of times for different video genres.
A Long-Neglected Mother of Contemporary Ethnography

As ethnographers look forward, we risk losing sight of the past. Short memories are common, and most sociologists have a certain “amnesia” (Gans 1992). Sometimes old scholarship is best forgotten, but this is not always the case. We argue that the neglected ethnographic work of Annie Marion MacLean— who was writing at the turn of the last century—deserves our attention despite its age. To the extent that contemporary ethnography has a metaphorical “genetic code” in common, MacLean's work has these traits, and we argue that her work speaks to contemporary concerns: it gives us perspective on the realist-postmodernist debate, it demonstrates the challenges of ethnography as a career and how it can change over the life-course, and it forces us to reflect on our short scholarly recall. Much can be learned from MacLean and other relevant but neglected ethnographers. Failing to engage these works stunts our ethnographic growth.
Reliability estimation for statistical usage testing using Markov chains

Software validation is an important activity in order to test whether or not the correct software has been developed. Several testing techniques have been developed, and one of these is statistical usage testing (SUT). The main purpose of SUT is to test a software product from a user's point of view. Hence, usage models are designed and then test cases are developed from the models. Another advantage of SUT is that the reliability of the software can be estimated. In this paper, Markov chains are used to represent the usage models. Several approaches using Markov chains have been applied. This paper extends these approaches and presents a new approach to estimate the reliability from Markov chains. The reliability estimation is implemented in a new tool for statistical usage testing called MaTeLo. The tool is developed in a joint European project involving six industrial partners and two university partners. The purpose of the tool is to provide an estimate of the reliability and to automatically produce test cases based on usage models described as to Markov models.
Molecular phylogenetics of the siphonophora (Cnidaria), with implications for the evolution of functional specialization.

Siphonophores are a group of pelagic colonial hydrozoans (Cnidaria) that have long been of general interest because of the division of labor between the polyps and medusae that make up these "superorganisms. " These polyps and medusae are each homologous to free living animals but are generated by an incomplete asexual budding process that leaves them physiologically integrated. They are functionally specialized for different tasks and are precisely organized within each colony. The number of functional types of polyps and medusae varies across taxa, and different authors have used this character to construct phylogenies polarized in opposite directions, depending on whether they thought siphonophore evolution proceeded by a reduction or an increase in functional specialization. We have collected taxa across all major groups of siphonophores, many of which are found exclusively in the deep sea, using remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) and by SCUBA diving from ships in the open ocean. We have used 52 siphonophores and four outgroup taxa to estimate the siphonophore phylogeny with molecular data from the nuclear small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (18S) and the mitochondrial large subunit ribosomal RNA gene (16S). Parsimony reconstructions indicate that functionally specialized polyps and medusae have been gained and lost across the phylogeny. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses of morphological data suggest that the transition rate for decreased functional specialization is greater than the transition rate for increased functional specialization for three out of the four investigated categories of polyps and medusae. The present analysis also bears on several long-standing questions about siphonophore systematics. It indicates that the cystonects are sister to all other siphonophores, a group that we call the Codonophora. We also find that the Calycophorae are nested within the Physonectae, and that the Brachystelia, a historically recognized grouping of short-stemmed taxa, are polyphyletic. [Cnidaria; colonial animals; deep sea; division of labor; functional specialization; Hydrozoa; phylogenetics; Siphonophores. ].
Child play is serious: children's games, verbal art and survival in Africa

Although less known than children's lore elsewhere, especially that so well documented by Peter and Iona Opie, children's play in Africa has long been recorded and admired. This article reports on both the traditional and the current position in that continent, with conclusions based on a combination of ethnographic work, documentary sources, oral tradition and images. Contrary to what is often believed, the outcomes of play in Africa are serious as well as playful, comprising the lore of adult-generated lullabies, songs for work, and the all-too-serious slogans and play of child soldiers in the horrific wars of today.
The effects of a song-singing programme on the affective speaking intonation of people with traumatic brain injury

Primary objective: To examine changes in the relationship between intonation, voice range and mood following music therapy programmes in people with traumatic brain injury. Research design: Data from four case studies were pooled and effect size, ANOVA and correlation calculations were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. Methods and procedures: Subjects sang three self-selected songs for 15 sessions. Speaking fundamental frequency, fundamental frequency variability, slope, voice range and mood were analysed pre- and post-session. Results: Immediate treatment effects were not found. Long-term improvements in affective intonation were found in three subjects, especially in fundamental frequency. Voice range improved over time and was positively correlated with the three intonation components. Mood scale data showed that immediate effects were in the negative direction whereas there weres increases in positive mood state in the longer-term. Conclusions: Findings suggest that, in the long-term, song singing can improve vocal range and mood and enhance the affective intonation styles of people with TBI.
The contribution of job and leisure satisfaction to quality of life.

This study examines the relationships between job and leisure satisfaction and their contributions to the perception of quality of life. The data were collected from a national probability sample of 1,297 adult Americans interviewed in May 1972. The magnitude of the correlations between job and leisure satisfaction measures was low; however, both accounted for meaningful variation in perceived quality of life for the total sample. Separate analyses for demographic subgroups were also performed. They indicated that job satisfaction and leisure satisfaction contributed relatively little to the life quality of minori-ties and other often "disadvantaged" subgroups compared to "advantaged" workers. Implications of the results for the application of motivational strat-egies in the work setting are discussed.
Using probabilistic confidence models for trust inference in Web-based social networks

In this article, we describe a new approach that gives an explicit probabilistic interpretation for social networks. In particular, we focus on the observation that many existing Web-based trust-inference algorithms conflate the notions of “trust” and “confidence,” and treat the amalgamation of the two concepts to compute the trust value associated with a social relationship. Unfortunately, the result of such an algorithm that merges trust and confidence is not a trust value, but rather a new variable in the inference process. Thus, it is hard to evaluate the outputs of such an algorithm in the context of trust inference. This article first describes a formal probabilistic network model for social networks that allows us to address that issue. Then we describe SUNNY, a new trust inference algorithm that uses probabilistic sampling to separately estimate trust information and our confidence in the trust estimate and use the two values in order to compute an estimate of trust based on only those information sources with the highest confidence estimates. We present an experimental evaluation of SUNNY. In our experiments, SUNNY produced more accurate trust estimates than the well-known trust inference algorithm TidalTrust, demonstrating its effectiveness. Finally, we discuss the implications these results will have on systems designed for personalizing content and making recommendations.
EphB4 Tyrosine Kinase Stimulation Inhibits Growth of MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells in a Dose and Time Dependent Manner

Background. EphB4 receptor tyrosine kinase is of diagnostic and therapeutic value due to its overexpression in breast tumors. Dual functions of tumor promotion and suppression have been reported for this receptor based on presence or absence of its ligand. To elucidate such discrepancy, we aimed to determine the effect of time- and dose-dependent stimulation of EphB4 on viability and invasion of breast cancer cells via recombinant ephrinB2-Fc. Methods. Cells were seeded into multiwell plates and were stimulated by various concentrations of preclustered ephrinB2-Fc. Cell viability was measured on days 3 and 6 following treatment using alamar-blue when cells were in different states of confluence. Results. Stimulation of cells with ephrinB2 did not pose any significant effect on cell viability before reaching confluence, while inhibition of cell growth was detected after 6 days when cells were in postconfluent state following a dose-dependent manner. EphrinB2 treatment did not affect tubular formation and invasion on matrigel. Conclusion. This study showed that EphB4 can differentially inhibit cells at post confluent state and that presence of ligand manifests growth-inhibitory properties of EphB4 receptor. It is concluded that growth inhibition has occurred possibly due to long treatment with ligand, a process which leads to receptor downregulation.
Meta-analysis Diabetes mellitus and the risk of cholangiocarcinoma : an updated meta-analysis

Introduction: A number of studies have shown that diabetes mellitus is implicated in susceptibility to several cancers. However, the relationship between diabetes and cholangiocarcinoma remain unclear. Aim: To quantitatively assess the relationship between diabetes and incidence of cholangiocarcinoma in cohort and case-control studies. Material and methods: A literature search was performed for entries from 1996 to 2014 using the PubMed and EMBASE databases. Studies were included if they reported odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% CI of cholangiocarcinoma with respect to diabetes mellitus. Results: Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria, which included fifteen case-control studies and five cohort studies from Asia (n = 11), the United States (n = 5), and Europe (n = 4). Compared with individuals without diabetes, the pooled OR of cholangiocarcinoma was 1.74 (95% CI: 1.62–1.87, p = 0.568 for heterogeneity) for patients with diabetes, ICC (summary RR, 1.93; 95% CI: 1.65–2.25; p = 0.037 for heterogeneity), and ECC (summary RR, 1.66; 95% CI: 1.39–1.98; p = 0.001 for heterogeneity). The funnel plot revealed no evidence for publication bias concerning diabetes and the risk of CC (including ICC and ECC). Conclusions: The findings from this meta-analysis suggest that diabetes may increase the risk of cholangiocarcinoma. This relationship needs to be confirmed by further follow-up studies. Introduction Cholangiocarcinoma (CC) is one of the most lethal human malignant tumours. Anatomically, CC can be classified as either intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ECC), according to its location [1]. Incidence and mortality rates for CC have risen across the world [2]. In the UK, CC has killed approximately 1500 people annually since the mid-1990s, with approximately equal numbers of men and women [3]. Because of the difficulty in obtaining an early diagnosis, the prognosis is extremely poor [4], even with surgical and chemotherapy intervention. There are several established risk factors for CC, such as primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), which is the commonest known predisposing factor for CC in the western world [5]. Other factors including chronic intraductal gallstones, liver fluke, choledochal (bile duct) cysts and Caroli’s disease (intrahepatic biliary cysts), bile duct adenoma and biliary papillomatosis, Thorotrast, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and chronic typhoid carriage [6–9]. Many studies have been conducted to explore potential risk factors of CC. Chronic viral hepatitis B or C, obesity, diabetes, fatty liver disease, alcohol, smoking, polymorphisms of genes, inflammation, and biliary transporters may also be risk factors. Several studies have found that diabetes can increase the risk of cancers, including cancers of the breast, pancreas, liver, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma [10–12]. Also, some cohort and case-control studies have been conducted to estimate the relationship between diabetes and CC. But the results were controversial. Some studies found that diabetes can increase the risk
Iterative Correction of Phase Noise in Multicarrier Modulation

We investigate a phase noise suppression algorithm which estimates the Fourier components of the phase noise process to eliminate intercarrier interference in addition to standard common phase error correction. With coded transmission the system is equivalent to a serial concatenation of an outer code with the inner channel affected by phase noise. An APP decoder is employed to minimize feedback errors by selecting the most reliable decoded symbols. By iterative MMSE estimation phase noise Fourier components and soft decoding increasingly higher orders of the phase noise process are corrected in the received symbols. Simulations for an AWGN channel, different oscillator linewidths and a static 3 path fading channel with different fading depth illustrate the possible gains.
The Effects of Age and Gender on Student Achievement in Face-To-Face and Online College Algebra Classes.

Demand for online learning has increased in recent years due to the convenience of course delivery. However, some students appear to have difficulties with online education resulting in lack of completion. The study utilized a quantitative approach with archival data. The factors of achievement and demographics were compared for face-to-face and online students. Multiple regressions and ANCOVA were performed to analyze the data while controlling age and gender to reveal any significant differences between the two groups. The sample and population for this study were predominantly Hispanic students. Multiple regression findings indicated that age and gender were predictors of student achievement in face-to-face college algebra courses at a college in south Texas. In the equivalent college algebra online courses, neither Age nor Gender impacted students' grade. ANCOVA showed that the average grade of face-to-face students was higher than that of online students.
Balanced scorecard et pilotage de la responsabilité sociale de l'entreprise

Dans cet article, les auteurs s’interrogent sur la nature du balanced scorecard en prenant comme terrain d’application la mise en œuvre du pilotage de la responsabilite sociale de l’entreprise (RSE) dans une entreprise sociale pour l’habitat (ESH). La recherche intervention a ete engagee sur une duree de trois ans et a abouti a la mise en place d’un tableau de bord strategique annuel et d’un systeme de reporting mensuel. L’apport du travail reside dans une reflexion sur les tableaux de bord strategiques et leur articulation avec les modes d’instrumentation du pilotage de la responsabilite globale de l’entreprise.
The Interest Rate and Credit Channels in Belgium: An Investigation with Micro-Level Firm Data

This paper investigates the effects of monetary policy on firms' investment behaviour through the interest rate and credit channels. The analysis relies on a comprehensive database of Belgian firms covering all sectors of economic activity and firms of all sizes. We proceed in two steps. First, we estimate a reduced-form investment equation derived from the neoclassical model, augmented by cash flow. This equation gives us the sensitivity of investment to the user cost, sales and cash flow. This allows us to assess the relative importance of the interest rate and credit channels. We simulate the effect of a transitory change in the market interest rate on investment through changes in the user cost of capital and the cash flow-capital ratio. We additionally compute the long-run elasticity of the capital stock to the market interest rate. We perform both exercises for various sample splits according to sectors and sizes. Our results indicate that in the manufacturing and construction sector, small firms are more sensitive to monetary policy than large firms, that firms in the construction sector are more sensitive than firms in other sectors and that services firms are almost unaffected. The interest rate channel appears to be the dominant channel of monetary transmission; it accounts for 75% of the first-year effect of an interest rate change.
Gaussian Monocycle Pulse Transmitter Using 0.18 $\mu{\hbox {m}}$ CMOS Technology With On-Chip Integrated Antennas for Inter-Chip UWB Communication

A single-chip Gaussian monocycle pulse (GMP) transmitter using 0.18 mum CMOS technology with an on-chip integrated antenna was developed for inter-chip ultra-wideband (UWB) communication. Ultra-short GMP signals of 280 ps duration, -20.2 dB ringing level and 3.6 GHz center frequency were generated with the power consumption of 12.6 mW at 1.8 V. Intra- and inter-chip transmissions and receptions of the generated GMP were successfully demonstrated at a pulse repetition rate of 1.16 Gb/s by use of on-ship integrated dipole antennas.
CDER: Efficient MT Evaluation Using Block Movements

Most state-of-the-art evaluation measures for machine translation assign high costs to movements of word blocks. In many cases though such movements still result in correct or almost correct sentences. In this paper, we will present a new evaluation measure which explicitly models block reordering as an edit operation. Our measure can be exactly calculated in quadratic time. Furthermore, we will show how some evaluation measures can be improved by the introduction of word-dependent substitution costs. The correlation of the new measure with human judgment has been investigated systematically on two different language pairs. The experimental results will show that it significantly outperforms state-of-the-art approaches in sentence-level correlation. Results from experiments with word dependent substitution costs will demonstrate an additional increase of correlation between automatic evaluation measures and human judgment.
Women’s participation in entrepreneurial and political leadership: The importance of culturally endorsed implicit leadership theories

This paper explores how globally endorsed leadership behaviors affect women’s involvement in leadership by empirically examining the impact of Project GLOBE’s culturally endorsed implicit leadership theories on a sample of female business and political leaders. The study examines two continuous dependent variables provided by the World Bank: Female Seats in National Parliaments (%) and Self-employed Females (% of Total Self-employment). Regression analysis was used to test the viability of the culturally endorsed implicit leadership theories as possible predictors of women’s participation in leadership. The results indicate that charismatic leadership and self-protective leadership are predictors of women’s leadership participation but in different ways; the former has a positive effect for participation in both leadership (political and business) contexts, and the latter has a negative effect only on political leadership participation.