Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of the Modular Domains of SR Proteins in Subnuclear Localization and Alternative Splicing Specificity

SR proteins are required for constitutive pre-mRNA splicing and also regulate alternative splice site selection in a concentration-dependent manner. They have a modular structure that consists of one or two RNA-recognition motifs (RRMs) and a COOH-terminal arginine/serine-rich domain (RS domain). We have analyzed the role of the individual domains of these closely related proteins in cellular distribution, subnuclear localization, and regulation of alternative splicing in vivo. We observed striking differences in the localization signals present in several human SR proteins. In contrast to earlier studies of RS domains in the Drosophila suppressor-of-white-apricot (SWAP) and Transformer (Tra) alternative splicing factors, we found that the RS domain of SF2/ASF is neither necessary nor sufficient for targeting to the nuclear speckles. Although this RS domain is a nuclear localization signal, subnuclear targeting to the speckles requires at least two of the three constituent domains of SF2/ASF, which contain additive and redundant signals. In contrast, in two SR proteins that have a single RRM (SC35 and SRp20), the RS domain is both necessary and sufficient as a targeting signal to the speckles. We also show that RRM2 of SF2/ASF plays an important role in alternative splicing specificity: deletion of this domain results in a protein that, although active in alternative splicing, has altered specificity in 5′ splice site selection. These results demonstrate the modularity of SR proteins and the importance of individual domains for their cellular localization and alternative splicing function in vivo.
Association Study of Tryptophan Hydroxylase 1 and Arylalkylamine N-Acetyltransferase Polymorphisms With Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis in Han Chinese

Study Design. A genetic association study of tryptophan hydroxylase 1 gene (TPH1) and arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase gene(AANAT) with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) in Han Chinese. Objective. To access whether TPH1 and AANAT polymorphisms are associated with the predisposition, gender, and/or severity of AIS. Summary of Background Data. Studies have shown that AIS is a multifactorial inheritance disease, but the etiology is still unknown. In addition, several lines of evidence show that melatonin deficiency is closely associated with AIS, although there are still doubts and debates. Some polymorphisms in TPH1 and AANAT, the genes of 2 critical enzymes involved in melatonin biosynthesis, may contribute to variability of melatonin production in pineal glands. Methods. We genotyped 16 reported single nuclear polymorphisms (SNPs) present in TPH1 and AANAT in 103 AIS patients and 108 controls with matched sex and age. The data of 6 SNPs with minor allele frequence (MAF) above 5% were analyzed by the allelic and genotypic association analysis, the genotype-phenotype (gender and Cobb angle) association analysis, and the haplotype analysis. Results. The single SNP analysis showed that rs10488682, located in the promoter region of TPH1, was related with the occurrence of AIS (P < 0.05). No SNP was found to be correlated with gender or Cobb angle. Two makers (rs8176799 and rs2108977) in TPH1 were found to be in strong LD [ D′ = 1.0 (95% CI, 0.9–1.0), γ2 = 0.501, LOD = 18.93] in the controls. Both global haplotype analysis and individual haplotype analysis showed that there was no haplotype significantly associated with AIS in this LD block. Conclusion. TPH1 polymorphisms were associated with AIS but not with gender and Cobb angle in AIS patients. AANAT polymorphisms were not associated with AIS. These results suggested that TPH1 was an AIS predisposition gene, and there was a close relationship between the dyssynthesis of melatonin and AIS.
Professional Education: the relationship between ‘academic’ and experiential learning

ABSTRACT The move towards courses of professional education being based in the workplace rather than in academic institutions raises a number of concerns relating to the relationship between the validating institution and the workplace organisation. This article identifies some of these concerns. In particular the role of the workplace (or work base) mentor is analysed in the light of empirical evidence of how this role can best be fulfilled in the context of the initial training of teachers and youth workers. Limitations of work‐based training are described and a case is argued for the continuing role of academic coursework to provide a necessary conceptual framework for developing both skills and professionalism in the work base
Unitary space-time codes from group codes: permutation codes variant II

Space-time coding was developed for use in multiple-antenna wireless communications to achieve high data rate and low error probability. The design of a full diversity space-time code with high coding gain and simple encoding-decoding algorithm poses a particularly challenging problem. In this paper, we present new full diversity unitary constellations, based on permutation codes variant II for differential unitary space-time modulation with two transmitter antennas. Simulations show that the proposed constellations have excellent performance at high signal-to-noise ratio, and also outperform constellations obtained from the dicyclic group, cyclic group, orthogonal design, parametric code and numerical method.
Finding the silver lining

The present research sought to identify a novel factor that reduces the emotional impact of relationship dissolution. Specifically, we examined individuals’ use of redemptive narratives—a form of narrative focused on positive outcomes in negative situations—in post-dissolution journal entries written over the course of a 4-day diary study. An interaction emerged, that is, individuals reported reduced emotional distress to the extent that they had used more, versus fewer, redemptive narratives the day before (a lagged effect), but only at the end, not the beginning, of the study. This effect was independent from similar effects predicted by greater cognitive processing. These findings suggest that redemptive narratives may reduce individuals’ post-dissolution distress.
An algorithm of radar deception jamming suppression based on blind signal separation

This paper presents a suppression method based on blind signal separation (BSS) to counter radar deception jamming in the single channel. Firstly, the mixed signal is extracted and separated into two signals by the joint approximate diagonalization of eigenmatrices (JADE) BSS technology. And then the target and deception jamming are sorted and identified by the characters of phase quantization. Finally, the experiments are done to validate the effective of the proposed algorithm. Under the condition of 4 quantization bits and signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) > 20dB, the probability of identification is over 90%, the similarity coefficients of target echo for linear frequency modulation (LFM) and binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) radar are over 90% and 85%, respectively.
Formation Flight of Multiple UAVs via Onboard Sensor Information Sharing

To monitor large areas or simultaneously measure multiple points, multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) must be flown in formation. To perform such flights, sensor information generated by each UAV should be shared via communications. Although a variety of studies have focused on the algorithms for formation flight, these studies have mainly demonstrated the performance of formation flight using numerical simulations or ground robots, which do not reflect the dynamic characteristics of UAVs. In this study, an onboard sensor information sharing system and formation flight algorithms for multiple UAVs are proposed. The communication delays of radiofrequency (RF) telemetry are analyzed to enable the implementation of the onboard sensor information sharing system. Using the sensor information sharing, the formation guidance law for multiple UAVs, which includes both a circular and close formation, is designed. The hardware system, which includes avionics and an airframe, is constructed for the proposed multi-UAV platform. A numerical simulation is performed to demonstrate the performance of the formation flight guidance and control system for multiple UAVs. Finally, a flight test is conducted to verify the proposed algorithm for the multi-UAV system.
Influence of Culture on Secondary School Students' Understanding of Statistics: A Fijian Perspective.

Although we use statistical notions daily in making decisions, research in statistics education has focused mostly on formal statistics. Further, everyday culture may influence informal ideas of statistics. Yet, there appears to be minimal literature that deals with the educational implications of the role of culture. This paper will discuss the interaction between statistical cognition and culture, reporting on the effects of culture on secondary students’ statistical ideas. It will draw on examples from my work and that of a few others who have studied cultural influences on statistical ideas to explain how statistics is tied to cultural practices. The paper will consider the issues arising out of the literature and offer suggestions for meeting the challenges.
Children’s Play Preferences, Construction Play with Blocks, and Visual-spatial Skills: Are they Related?

Fifty-one preschoolers’ play preferences, skills at assembling block structures, and spatial abilities were recorded in this study. There were no sex differences in children’s visual-spatial skills, and play with art materials and children’s free and structured play with blocks were related to spatial visualisation. Two patterns emerged from the findings: (1) activity and performance representing skills in spatial visualisation and visual-motor coordination; and (2) creativity, or the ability to break set and to produce varied solutions using visual materials. Future research might examine the extent to which children’s play activities and experiences predict these types of skills.
LoL Classroom: A Virtual University Classroom Based on Enhanced Chats

This paper presents a chat tool, called LoL classroom, which recreates the environment of a physical university classroom. The tool draws inspiration from the basic principles of constructivism and overcomes the main limitations of traditional chat rooms. We discuss the underlying teaching and interaction models, we outline the main features and we present the user interface of the tool. LoL classroom has been integrated in the LoL e-learning platform (Land of Learning, by MEC informatica) adopted in several online degree programs of the University of Urbino. The effectiveness of the tool has been demonstrated by the satisfaction of students and instructors revealed by questionnaires administered at the end of each academic year.
The effects of distinctiveness, presentation time and delay on face recognition

Abstract The distinctiveness of a face has been found to be an important factor in face recognition. We investigated the effect of the distinctiveness of a face upon subjects' speed and accuracy of recognition following different presentation times and retention intervals. It was found that (1) hits decreased with increasing delay; (2) false alarms increased and d primes decreased with a presentation time of 1 sec compared with 5 sec; (3) distinctive faces received more hits and higher d primes than non-distinctive faces; and (4) response latencies were shorter for distinctive targets than for distinctive distraction or non distinctive targets or distractors. These results were discussed in terms of the literature on the distinctiveness effect in face recognition.
Patterns of change and stability in the gender division of household labour in Australia, 1986–1997

Recent research in Australia and overseas has suggested that we are witnessing a convergence of men's and women's time on domestic labour activities. But there is disagreement about whether this is due to women reducing their time on housework or men increasing their time on housework. This article addresses these issues using national survey data collected in Australia in 1986, 1993 and 1997. The results show some changes in the proportional responsibilities of men and women in the home with men reporting a greater share of traditional indoor activities. But overall both men and women are spending less time on housework. In particular, women's time on housework has declined by six hours per week since 1986. Hence, while the gender gap between men's and women's involvement in the home is getting smaller, it is not the result of men increasing their share of the load, but is due to the large decline in women's time spent on domestic labour. There is also evidence of change in the relationship between paid and unpaid work for women. Women's hours of paid labour had a greater impact on their involvement in domestic labour in 1997 compared to a decade earlier. The article concludes that women's increased labour force involvement in combination with changing patterns and styles of consumption is leading to some changes in the gender division of household labour, but not in the direction anticipated by earlier commentators on the domestic division of labour.
Magnetoluminescence from correlated electrons in quantum dots.

The electronic states and the magnetoluminescence spectrum of a few correlated electrons in parabolic quantum dots recombining with valence band holes localized by acceptors are investigated. We show that for an ensemble of quantum dots the average energy of emitted photons is a discontinuous function of the magnetic field. The discrete jumps in photon energy correspond to changes in the angular momentum of the ground state with increasing magnetic field. The size and the sign of the discontinuity are a direct measure of electron-electron and final-state interactions
Service-oriented architecture for mobile applications

Mobile phones are becoming a new popular platform for business applications. The number of mobile users increases daily and so does the need for efficient mobile data access and management. However, a traditional approach to business application and database design is not suitable for mobile devices because of the limited memory and connection bandwidth. This paper presents a novel lightweight mobile SOA-based architecture for business applications running on J2ME enabled devices such as cell phones. The paper includes position statement based on our experience and describes a first prototype implementation of the architecture. Some important features of our design are: using the knowledge of business processes to minimize data transferred to and stored on the device; pro-active data loading; allowing applications to fully function in a disconnected mode. The above architecture results in a lightweight framework, which can be used in order to develop a wide spectrum of business-oriented mobile applications.
Histone demethylase retinoblastoma binding protein 2 regulates the expression of α-smooth muscle actin and vimentin in cirrhotic livers

Liver cirrhosis is one of the most common diseases of Chinese patients. Herein, we report the high expression of a newly identified histone 3 lysine 4 demethylase, retinoblastoma binding protein 2 (RBP2), and its role in liver cirrhosis in humans. The siRNA knockdown of RBP2 expression in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) reduced levels of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and vimentin and decreased the proliferation of HSCs; and overexpression of RBP2 increased α-SMA and vimentin levels. Treatment with transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) upregulated the expression of RBP2, α-SMA, and vimentin, and the siRNA knockdown of RBP2 expression attenuated TGF-β-mediated upregulation of α-SMA and vimentin expression and HSC proliferation. Furthermore, RBP2 was highly expressed in cirrhotic rat livers. Therefore, RBP2 may participate in the pathogenesis of liver cirrhosis by regulating the expression of α-SMA and vimentin. RBP2 may be a useful marker for the diagnosis and treatment of liver cirrhosis.
RT-Frontier: a real-time operating system for practical imprecise computation

Imprecise computation is known as an effective technique for dynamically resolving trade-offs between the amount of resources and the quality of the result. However, its implementation and operating system support methods have not been exploited enough from a practical point of view. This paper presents a new approach taken in the RT-Frontier operating system to support imprecise computation. Applications that allow imprecise computation are first transformed to tasks composed of three parts based on an extended imprecise computation model. All tasks are then uniformly scheduled according to a novel scheduling algorithm called Slack Stealer for Optional Parts (SS-OP). The SS-OP algorithm is designed to handle imprecise computations with small overhead, which is at a comparable level of that of the Earliest Deadline First (EOF) algorithm. The results of experiments show that the presented approach is cost-effective enough to be considered as a practical basis for embedded real-time systems.
Biculturalism among Older Children

This study examines cultural frame switching among bicultural Greek children between the ages of 9 and 12 living in the Netherlands. By means of experimentally primed bicultural children and the use of monocultural comparison groups in the Netherlands and Greece, it was demonstrated that social explanations, self-identification, and attitudes toward family integrity and obedience were affected by cultural identity salience. Compared to Dutch identity salience, activating Greek identity especially led to more external attributions, stronger identification with friends, a more positive evaluation of social identity, and a less positive evaluation of personal identity. Similar tendencies were found for the attitude measures. In addition, similar differences were found when comparing monocultural Dutch and monocultural Greek children. It is concluded that this kind of experimental study and its results help to improve our understanding of the experiences of bicultural individuals and the way culture influences people’s lives.
Transmitochondrial embryonic stem cells containing pathogenic mtDNA mutations are compromised in neuronal differentiation

Objectives: Defects of the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) cause a series of rare, mainly neurological disorders. In addition, they have been implicated in more common forms of movement disorders, dementia and the ageing process. In order to try to model neuronal dysfunction associated with mitochondrial disease, we have attempted to establish a series of transmitochondrial mouse embryonic stem cells harbouring pathogenic mtDNA mutations.
Issues of Mass and Count: Dealing with ‘Dual-Life’ Nouns

The topics of mass and count have been studied for many decades in philosophy (e.g., Quine, 1960; Pelletier, 1975), linguistics (e.g., McCawley, 1975; Allen, 1980; Krifka, 1991) and psychology (e.g., Middleton et al, 2004; Barner et al, 2009). More recently, interest from within computational linguistics has studied the issues involved (e.g., Pustejovsky, 1991; Bond, 2005; Schmidtke & Kuperman, 2016), to name just a few. As is pointed out in these works, there are many difficult conceptual issues involved in the study of this contrast. In this article we study one of these issues – the “Dual-Life” of being simultaneously +mass and +count – by means of an unusual combination of human annotation, online lexical resources, and online corpora.
Serum 25–Hydroxyvitamin D3 and Mammography Density among Mexican Women

Low circulating levels of vitamin D and high mammographic density (MD) have been associated with higher risk of breast cancer. Although some evidence suggested an inverse association between circulating vitamin D and MD, no studies have investigated this association among Mexican women. We examined whether serum 25−hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3] levels were associated with MD in a cross-sectional study nested within the large Mexican Teacher's Cohort. This study included 491 premenopausal women with a mean age of 42.9 years. Serum 25(OH)D3 levels were measured by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Linear regression and non-linear adjusted models were used to estimate the association of MD with serum 25(OH)D3. Median serum 25(OH)D3 level was 27.3 (23.3–32.8) (ng/ml). Forty one (8%) women had 25(OH)D3 levels in the deficient range (< 20 ng/ml). Body mass index (BMI) and total physical activity were significantly correlated with 25(OH)D3 (r = −0.109, P = 0.019 and r = 0.095, P = 0.003, respectively). In the multivariable linear regression, no significant association was observed between 25(OH)D3 levels and MD overall. However, in stratified analyses, higher serum 25(OH)D3 levels (≥27.3 ng/ml) were significantly inversely associated with percent MD among women with BMI below the median (β = −0.52, P = 0.047). Although no significant association was observed between serum 25(OH)D3 and percent MD in the overall population, specific subgroups of women may benefit from higher serum 25(OH)D3 levels.
¿Del mar quién es dueño?: Artisanal Fisheries, Tourism Development and the Struggles over Access to Marine Resources in Gigante, Nicaragua

Since the mid-1990s Nicaragua has turned to the undeveloped beaches of the Pacific to generate much-needed foreign exchange. This region, though, was not uninhabited. Indeed, hundreds of fishing families relied on the fecundity of the ocean to feed their families and to sell fish for international consumption. The growth of tourism brings threats to this form of living. Specifically, a Marine Protected Area (MPA), promulgated by large tourism operations may exclude fishermen from their most fertile fishing waters. This paper provides details about current use of the ocean by local fishermen and how that will be impacted by the implementation of the MPA.
An improved feature selection algorithm with conditional mutual information for classification problems

The purpose of the feature selection is to eliminate insignificant features from entire dataset and simultaneously to keep the class discriminatory information for classification problems. Many feature selection algorithms have been proposed to measure the relevance and redundancy of the features and class variables. In this paper, we proposed an improved feature selection algorithm based on maximum relevance and minimum redundancy criterion. The relevance of a feature to the class variables are evaluated with mutual information and conditional mutual information is used to calculate the redundancy between the selected and the candidate features to each class variable. The experimental result is tested with five benchmarked datasets available from UCI Machine Learning Repository. The results shows the proposed algorithm is considered quite well when compared with some existing algorithms.
"It seems to fill my head with ideas": A few thoughts on postmodernism, TQM, and BPR

The main objective of this article is to explode the popular myth that the Total Quality Management (TQM) and Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) constructs have not been properly understood or implemented. Elements of postmodern discourse are used to juggle with the meaning of TQM, BPR, and, at a later stage, with that of postmodernism itself. Problems traditionally identified as hampering TQM/BPR implementation can be thus dissolved. Both the arguments of TQM/BPR advocates and opponents will be shown to be necessarily incomplete. By taking the TQM/BPR constructs less seriously and offering an alternative to the totalizing discourse surrounding them, we may be able to unlock more of their potential.