Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Placemaking with Children and Youth: Participatory Practices for Planning Sustainable Communities

Features • Best practices for establishing programs and partnerships, understanding communities, and working ethically with children, youth, and families • Accessible participatory methods for engaging marginalized populations • A history of children’s rights for active participation in their societies and global initiatives to create child-friendly cities • Variety of methods for children to study their environment, explore issues, and share experiences and ideas • Ways to conduct workshops and community events that bring all generations together to plan cities with a high quality of life for all ages • Guidance for evaluating projects to achieve goals effectively and communicate achievements • Exemplary case studies from Canada, the United States, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand
Sentiment Analysis on Textual Reviews

These days there is an expansion in review websites. It has turned out to be considerably more intricate to mine fundamental data from survey sites and take proper choice. Using Natural Language Processing, there is need to identify sentiment of content or document. In this paper Sentiment Analysis is done in view of Rule based mechanism and machine learning approach. Both of these strategies are analyzed and discovered that machine learning is most appropriate for Sentiment Analysis in light of the exactness measurement. Sentiment Vader and Senti word net are the Rule based algorithms utilized and LDA analysis on Naive bayes is the machine learning strategy used.
Transaction Costs, Land Rental Markets, and Their Impact on Youth Access to Agriculture in Tanzania

We use three waves of nationally representative panel data from Tanzania to estimate the extent to which land rental markets provide a pathway for youth to enter into agriculture. We also investigate how transaction costs may impede youth access to renting-in land. Results suggest that rental markets are important mechanisms through which young farmers access land, but younger farmers face higher transaction costs when renting land than do older farmers. We also find evidence that younger farmers pay higher prices for rented land and are somewhat less likely to belong to village savings groups than are their older counterparts. (JEL O12, Q15)
Defining Tech: An Examination of How the ‘Technology’ Economy Is Measured

The paper conducts a comprehensive review and critical comparison of the empirical methodologies for defining the high-technology sector (or ‘tech’) in social science research and analysis. It consolidates both qualitative (expert-based) approaches and quantitative (threshold-based) approaches for the broader audience of researchers. In the quantitative approaches, the paper identifies two accepted metrics and two loosely defined criteria used in distinguishing tech. The paper finds a generally consistent theoretical conceptualization for how to distinguish tech from other sectors, but inconsistency and no consensus on the implementation of that theory in applied research methods. The paper proposes two steps forward for future methodologies by identifying of a set of consensus industries present across tech definitions and by arguing for a continuum-based approach to identifying technology intensity in industries, businesses, and products/services.
Large‐scale integration of microarray data reveals genes and pathways common to multiple cancer types

The global gene expression analysis of cancer and healthy tissues typically results in large numbers of genes that are significantly altered in cancer. Such data, however, has been difficult to interpret due to the high level of variation of gene lists across laboratories and the small sample sizes used in individual studies. In this investigation, we compiled microarray data obtained from the same platform family from 84 laboratories, resulting in a database containing 1,043 healthy tissue samples and 4,900 cancer samples for 13 different tissue types. The primary cancers considered included adrenal gland, brain, breast, cervix, colon, kidney, liver, lung, ovary, pancreas, prostate and skin tissues. We normalized the data together and analyzed subsets for the discovery of genes involved in normal to cancer transformation. Our integrated significance analysis of microarrays approach produced top 400 gene lists for each of the 13 cancer types. These lists were highly statistically enriched with genes already associated with cancer in research publications excluding microarray studies (p < 1.31 E ‐ 12). The genes MTIM and RRM2 appeared in nine and TOP2A in eight lists of significantly altered genes in cancer. In total, there were 132 genes present in at least four gene lists, 11 of which were not previously associated with cancer. The list contains 17 metal ions and 15 adenyl ribonucleotide binding proteins, six kinases and six transcription factors. Our results point to the value of integrating microarray data in the study of combination drug therapies targeting metastasis.
Intraspecific Diversity of Yersinia pestis

SUMMARY Increased interest in the pathogenic potential of Yersinia pestis has emerged because of the potential threats from bioterrorism. Pathogenic potential is based on genetic factors present in a population of microbes, yet most studies evaluating the role of specific genes in virulence have used a limited number of strains. For Y. pestis this issue is complicated by the fact that most strains available for study in the Americas are clonally derived and thus genetically restricted, emanating from a strain of Y. pestis introduced into the United States in 1902 via marine shipping and subsequent spread of this strain throughout North and South America. In countries from the former Soviet Union (FSU), Mongolia, and China there are large areas of enzootic foci of Y. pestis infection containing genetically diverse strains that have been intensely studied by scientists in these countries. However, the results of these investigations are not generally known outside of these countries. Here we describe the variety of methods used in the FSU to classify Y. pestis strains based on genetic and phenotypic variation and show that there is a high level of diversity in these strains not reflected by ones obtained from sylvatic areas and patients in the Americas.
A method of analyzing image distortion based on conjugate nodal plane

The imaging model of an optical camera without image aberration can be equivalently depicted by its conjugate nodal plane model. A pinhole camera model itself neglects aberration of corresponding equivalent model, and also fails to represent shift error of flat glass, tilt error of optical axis as well as image aberration of an actual optical system, all of these four factors give rise to image distortion. Based on this, utilizing the property of conjugate nodal plane, an geometry model of image distortion is presented. This model, which fits for pinhole cameras with chromatic aberration corrected, can analyze symmetric and asymmetric image distortion. The simulation of an actual optical system indicates that the relative radical distortion and relevant angle error both calculated by this model appears in the range of rational design parameters. In this model, four unknown parameters needed to be recognized are principal relevant parameters, tilt angle of optical axis and axial spherical aberration of flat glass. Theoretically, this geometric model can be used to correct image distortion, aiming at better precision of calibration of image distortion.
Stock Return and Trading Volume Relation in Nepalese Stock Market: An ARDL Approach

The relationship between stock returns and trading volume observed in this research is based on 149 monthly data (mid-July 2005 to mid-December 2017) of NEPSE index. The relationship between stock returns and trading volume is examined using Autoregressive Distributed Lag approach. The research investigated the long-run and short-run relationship between trading volume and stock returns. The study detected significantly positive relationship between trading volume and stock returns in both long as well as short run. Therefore, the research concludes that impact of stock returns on trading volume is significant in Nepalese Stock Market, indicates that market participants use volume as an introduction of stock returns. From investment perspective, the relationship between trading volume and stock returns is of great importance to individuals who invest in share market instruments. Keywords : Trading volume, stock returns, ARDL approach
Estimation of Causal Relationship between World Gold Prices and Kse 100 Index: Evidence from Johansen Cointegration Technique

The aspiration of this research paper is to investigate the impact of international gold prices on the equity returns of Karachi Stock Index (KSE100 index) of Pakistan Stock Exchange. The daily observations from January 1, 2000 – June 30, 2016 have been divided into three sub-periods along with the full sample period on the basis of structural breaks. Descriptive analysis used to calculate the average returns, which showed significant returns of KSE100 for the full sample, the first and the third sample periods as compared to gold returns. Standard deviation depicted the higher volatility in all the sample periods. Correlation analysis has shown an inverse relationship amid equity returns and gold returns, whereas, Philips-Perron and Augmented Dickey-Fuller tests have been employed, and time series data became stationary after taking the first difference. Johansen cointegration results have shown that the series are cointegrated in the full-sample and the first sample periods. Thus, this has demonstrated the long run association amid equity returns and gold returns in the first sub-sample and the full-sample periods. However, the second and the third sub-sample periods do not exhibit long-term association amid equity returns of KSE100 and gold returns. The outcomes of Granger causality approach identified bidirectional causation amid equity returns and gold returns in the full sample period in lag 2, and unidirectional causality has been observed from gold prices to stock prices in the full sample and the first sub-sample periods in lag 1 and lag 2 respectively.
Analysis and design of I-shaped metamaterial with notch

Based on the traditional I-shaped metamaterial structure, a new type of notched I-shaped structure is designed, and the reflection — transmission parameters are extracted by electromagnetic software HFSS. And the classical inversion algorithm shows that the structure can obtain the properties of permeability and dielectric constant in the range of 9.89 ∼ 10.24GHz.
Planar parallel-plate waveguide continuous transverse stub antenna array fed by substrate integrated waveguide divider

A new parallel-plate waveguide continuous transverse stub (CTS) antenna array is presented in this paper. Different from previous CTS antennas, this type of antenna is formed by several PCBs in a planar configuration with low-profile. It consists of three layers. The bottom layer is a feeding network which is made up of a 16-channel substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) power divider. The middle layer is a parallel-plate wave-guide filled with air. The top layer is a radiating board with 16 continuous transverse stubs. After full-wave simulation, this parallel-plate waveguide CTS antenna operates from 29.5 GHz to 30.4 GHz. The peak gain is 27.07dBi at 29.8 GHz. Within the whole bandwidth, the realized gain is less than 3dB compared with the directivity.
Why is the wage share falling in emerging economies? Industry level evidence

This article presents an econometric analysis of the wage share in seven emerging economies. We focus on the effect of globalisation, captured by participation in global value chains and financial integration, indicators of bargaining power of labour and technological change on the wage share. We use input-output tables that allow us to obtain detailed measures of global value chain participation, and sectoral data to distinguish the effect on high- and low-skilled workers and within manufacturing and service industries. We find a negative effect of offshoring from advanced to emerging economies, as well as negative effects of financial integration. Our findings suggest that the transmission mechanism is a reduction in labours’ bargaining power vis-a-vis capital. We find a robust positive effect of union density on the wage share but no evidence of a negative effect of technological change.
Investigating Effective Brain Connectivity from fMRI Data: Past Findings and Current Issues with Reference to Granger Causality Analysis

Interactions between brain regions have been recognized as a critical ingredient required to understand brain function. Two modes of interactions have held prominence-synchronization and causal influence. Efforts to ascertain causal influence from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data have relied primarily on confirmatory model-driven approaches, such as dynamic causal modeling and structural equation modeling, and exploratory data-driven approaches such as Granger causality analysis. A slew of recent articles have focused on the relative merits and caveats of these approaches. The relevant studies can be classified into simulations, theoretical developments, and experimental results. In the first part of this review, we will consider each of these themes and critically evaluate their arguments, with regard to Granger causality analysis. Specifically, we argue that simulations are bounded by the assumptions and simplifications made by the simulator, and hence must be regarded only as a guide to experimental design and should not be viewed as the final word. On the theoretical front, we reason that each of the improvements to existing, yet disparate, methods brings them closer to each other with the hope of eventually leading to a unified framework specifically designed for fMRI. We then review latest experimental results that demonstrate the utility and validity of Granger causality analysis under certain experimental conditions. In the second part, we will consider current issues in causal connectivity analysis-hemodynamic variability, sampling, instantaneous versus causal relationship, and task versus resting states. We highlight some of our own work regarding these issues showing the effect of hemodynamic variability and sampling on Granger causality. Further, we discuss recent techniques such as the cubature Kalman filtering, which can perform blind deconvolution of the hemodynamic response robustly well, and hence enabling wider application of Granger causality analysis. Finally, we discuss our previous work on the less-appreciated interactions between instantaneous and causal relationships and the utility and interpretation of Granger causality results obtained from task versus resting state (e.g., ability of causal relationships to provide a mode of connectivity between regions that are instantaneously dissociated in resting state). We conclude by discussing future directions in this area.
PURIFICATION AND FRACTIONAL ANALYSIS OF METHANOLIC EXTRACT OF WEDELIA TRILOBATA POSSESSING APOPTOTIC AND ANTI-LEUKEMIC ACTIVITY

Background: Wedelia trilobata (L.) Hitch (WT), commonly known as yellow dots or creeping daisy, is a shrub possessing potent biological activities, and is traditionally used a medicinal plant in Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani systems of medicines, and it has also been tried against leukemia cell line MEG- 01. In the present study, purification and screening of the plant was done for bioactive compounds in methanolic extract of WT for apoptotic and anti-leukemia activity. Materials and methods: The methanolic extract of WT was initially purified through thin layer chromatography (TLC) and screened for the apoptotic and anti-leukemia activities. The positive band of TLC was subjected to silica gel column chromatography for further purification and the fractions obtained from it were screened again for anti-leukemia activity through thymidine uptake assay and apoptotic activity by DNA fragmentation, nuclear staining and flow cytometry assays. The fraction with positive result was subjected to HPLC for analysis of bioactive components. Results: Out of many combinations of solvents, the methanol and dichloromethane combination in the ratio 6:4 has revealed two bands in TLC, among which the second band showed positive results for apoptotic and anti-leukemic activities. Further purification of second band through silica gel chromatography gave five fractions in which the 3rd fraction gave positive results and it shows single peak during compositional analysis through HPLC. Conclusion: The single peak revealed through HPLC indicates the presence of pure compound with apoptotic and anti-leukemia activities encouraging for further structural analysis.
The impact of candidate selection rules and electoral vulnerability on legislative behaviour in comparative perspective

Legislators are political actors whose main goal is to get re‐elected. They use their legislative repertoire to help them cater to the interests of their principals. It is argued in this article that we need to move beyond treating electoral systems as monolithic entities, as if all legislators operating under the same set of macro‐rules shared the same set of incentives. Rather, we need to account for within‐system variation – namely, candidate selection rules and individual electoral vulnerability. Using a most different systems design, Germany, Ireland and Portugal are leveraged with both cross‐system and within‐system variation. An original dataset of 345,000 parliamentary questions is used. Findings show that candidate selection rules blur canonical electoral system boundaries. Electoral vulnerability has a similar effect in closed‐list and mixed systems, but not in preferential voting settings.
The Impact of Standard Spoken Tamil in Singapore Tamil Classrooms

This paper examines recent changes in the teaching of Tamil in Singapore to students from Tamil language homes. Tamil is a diglossic language, with a formal or H variety that is used mainly in writing and is learned in schools and a spoken or L variety that is used in informal conversations and is learned naturally through exposure. Standard Spoken Tamil (SST) is the variety used by educated Tamils regardless of their caste or region in Tamil Nadu. Following the review of the Tamil language curriculum and pedagogy in 2006 by the Ministry of Education, Singapore (MOE), a Standardised variety of Spoken Tamil (SST) has become a key feature of Tamil language syllabus since 2008. This paper is based on a qualitative analysis of 18 primary school Tamil lessons and interviews with the participating teachers to understand: (a) the impact of introducing SST in Tamil classrooms; (b) the reactions of the teachers; and (c) those of the students to the lessons and techniques.
MALADAPTATION AS A SOURCE OF SENESCENCE IN HABITATS VARIABLE IN SPACE AND TIME

In this study, we use a quantitative genetics model of structured populations to investigate the evolution of senescence in a variable environment. Adaptation to local environments depends on phenotypic traits whose optimal values vary with age and with environmental conditions. We study different scenarios of environmental heterogeneity, where the environment changes abruptly, gradually, or cyclically with time and where the environment is heterogeneous in space with different populations connected by migration. The strength of selection decreases with age, which predicts slower adaptation of traits expressed late in the life cycle, potentially generating stronger senescence in habitats where selection changes in space or in time. This prediction is however complicated by the fact that the genetic variance also increases with age. Using numerical calculations, we found that the rate of senescence is generally increased when the environment varies. In particular, migration between different habitats is a source of senescence in heterogeneous landscapes. We also show that the rate of senescence can vary transiently when the population is not at equilibrium, with possible implications for experimental evolution and the study of invasive species. Our results highlight the need to study age‐specific adaptation, as a changing environment can have a different impact on different age classes.
High-throughput, high-fidelity HLA genotyping with deep sequencing

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes are the most polymorphic in the human genome. They play a pivotal role in the immune response and have been implicated in numerous human pathologies, especially autoimmunity and infectious diseases. Despite their importance, however, they are rarely characterized comprehensively because of the prohibitive cost of standard technologies and the technical challenges of accurately discriminating between these highly related genes and their many allelles. Here we demonstrate a high-resolution, and cost-effective methodology to type HLA genes by sequencing, which combines the advantage of long-range amplification, the power of high-throughput sequencing platforms, and a unique genotyping algorithm. We calibrated our method for HLA-A, -B, -C, and -DRB1 genes with both reference cell lines and clinical samples and identified several previously undescribed alleles with mismatches, insertions, and deletions. We have further demonstrated the utility of this method in a clinical setting by typing five clinical samples in an Illumina MiSeq instrument with a 5-d turnaround. Overall, this technology has the capacity to deliver low-cost, high-throughput, and accurate HLA typing by multiplexing thousands of samples in a single sequencing run, which will enable comprehensive disease-association studies with large cohorts. Furthermore, this approach can also be extended to include other polymorphic genes.
Association of DNA‐haplotypes in the human LDL‐receptor gene with normal serum cholesterol levels

For the low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), many mutations have been characterized which identify this gene as one with an important role in lipid metabolism in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). Genetic heterogeneity at this locus raises the possibility that the LDLR may also contribute to variation in cholesterol levels in the normocholesterolemic population. We have determined genotypes at the LDLR locus using restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) detected with the enzymes StuI, ApalI, PvuII and NcoI in 324 normocholesterolemic individuals from Germany. A significant association (p<0.01) was detected between the cutting site for the PvuII RFLP and lower cholesterol levels, and variation associated with this polymorphism explains 3% of the sample variance in cholesterol levels. In family studies we have determined four‐RFLP haplotypes of 148 independent LDLR genes and have observed 9 haplotypes in the population. Three of these haplotypes containing the cutting site for PvuII are associated with a reduction in plasma LDL‐cholesterol levels. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that these three haplotypes are related by evolutionary history, and this suggests that a single functionally important sequence change in the LDLR explains our observations. Our data confirm other reports and strongly suggest that the LDLR locus may be one of those genes involved in determining serum cholesterol levels in the normal population.