Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cracking the highest glass ceiling : a global comparison of women's campaigns for executive office

This examination of the role of gender stereotyping in media coverage of executive elections uses nine case studies from around the world to provide a unique comparative perspective. * Essays by 13 distinguished scholars combining research on gender and elections with expertise in a particular country * A table highlighting key findings for each case study, facilitating comparison in a way that has not previously been possible * A bibliography that brings together readings on gender, elections, and media stereotyping from the United States and eight other countries around the world
Network-Assisted Wireless Computing

Multimedia applications for mobile devices are increasing and growing more sophisticated. Many of these applications require computationally intensive processing, such as image processing, source coding, feature extraction and feature matching. If all of this processing were performed on the mobile device, its limited battery supply would quickly deplete. However, if the request must be transmitted through a network and processed at a remote application server large delays may be incurred due to communication latency-especially if the original size of the request message is very large. In this paper, we propose the use of mid-network processing on intermediary nodes in a multistage tandem network. We refer to this as ldquowireless network-Assisted computingrdquo. Allowing for mid-network processing can alleviate some of the processing burden on the mobile device, thereby extending its lifetime. It can also reduce communication latency by reducing the amount of information transmitted along each link. Certainly ldquoleasingrdquo processing power from these nodes comes at a price-in some cases it is beneficial to lease, in others it is not. We examine the core tradeoff between battery usage, latency, and usage of processing power at mid-network nodes. We identify some interesting properties of the optimal processing schedule. Through numerical analysis we study these properties and tradeoffs.
Qualities in Formal Ontology

We characterize and compare four different ways of representing qualities in formal ontology. Our goal is to discuss their ontological commitments and their adequacy in applications. We also show how the frameworks here presented relate to other approaches in ontology (trope theory), in cognitive science (conceptual spaces), and in physics (International System of Units). The work we present focuses on ontological construction; we do not discuss issues specifically related to measurements, metrics and
Road infrastructure and economic development : some diagnostic indicators

The authors investigate the association between per capita income and the magnitude and quality of road infrastructure. They adopt an empirical approach, directly comparing or correlating a countries income with selected variables associated with existing road networks. Cross-section analysis of data from 98 countries, and time series analysis of U.S. data since 1950, show consistent and significant associations between economic development (per capita GNP) and road infrastructure (per capita length of paved network). The data shows that the per capita stock of road infrastructure in high income economies is dramatically greater than in middle- and low-income economies. For instance, the average density of paved roads (km/million inhabitants) varies from 170 in low-income economies to 1,660 in middle-income and 10,110 in high-income economies. That is, the average density of paved roads in high-income economies is 59 times that in the low-income group. Road conditions also seem to be associated with economic development: the density of paved roads in good condition varies from 40 km/million inhabitants in low-income economies to 470 middle-income and 8,550 in high-income economies. The empirical information presented can be used as indicators of areas of weakness or strength in a country's stock of road infrastructure.
Monetary Interdependence and Coordination

This paper examines the interdependence and coordination of monetary and exchange rate policies among the G-3 countries over the period 1977 through 1993. The results in the paper suggest that the international monetary transmission mechanism is important, and that, among the G-3, US policies are the most influential. Further, it suggests that the G-3 generally honor international monetary policy commitments, although in the case of Germany the commitments seem to have coincided with domestic policy objectives.
Alterations of Choroidal Blood Flow Regulation in Young Healthy Subjects with Complement Factor H Polymorphism

A common polymorphism in the complement factor H gene (rs1061170, Y402H) is associated with a high risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In the present study we hypothesized that healthy young subjects homozygous for the high-risk haplotype (CC) show abnormal choroidal blood flow (ChBF) regulation decades before potentially developing the disease. A total of 100 healthy young subjects were included in the present study, of which 4 subjects were excluded due to problems with genotyping or blood flow measurements. ChBF was measured continuously using laser Doppler flowmetry while the subjects performed isometric exercise (squatting) for 6 minutes. The increase in ChBF was less pronounced than the response in ocular perfusion pressure (OPP), indicating for some degree of choroidal blood flow regulation. Eighteen subjects were homozygous for C, 47 subjects were homozygous for T and 31 subjects were heterozygous (CT). The increase in OPP during isometric exercise was not different between groups. By contrast the increase in ChBF was more pronounced in subjects homozygous for the high risk C allele (p = 0.041). This was also evident from the pressure/flow relationship, where the increase in ChBF in homozygous C carriers started at lower OPPs as compared to the other groups. Our data indicate that the regulation of ChBF is abnormal in rs1061170 CC carriers. So far this polymorphism has been linked to age related macular degeneration (AMD) mainly via inflammatory pathways associated with the complement system dysfunction. Our results indicate that it could also be related to vascular factors that have been implicated in AMD pathogenesis.
Social Insurance, Work Norms, and the Allocation of Talent

Across countries, generous social insurance comes along with weak work norms. This finding is often taken to mean that in the long run social insurance generates large output losses. But neither individual nor country data corroborates the view that weak work norms worsen economic performance. This paper offers a model of endogenous work norms that rationalizes that evidence. Weak work norms do not harm labor productivity because they are associated with an improved allocation of individual talents to occupations, while strong work norms arise as a defensive strategy of parents aiming at perpetueting their occupation along family lines. Evidence from microdata supports the view that (i) social insurance favors intergenerational occupational mobility and (ii) more mobile individuals endorse weaker work norms.
Shelftorchlight: Augmenting a shelf using a camera projector unit

The search for a certain book in a library that contains many books can be a time-consuming task. Even if one finds the right shelf, one still has to browse an often huge area in the shelf. The same problem occurs when searching for a specific product in a supermarket shelf that fits one personal preferences (e.g. a allergic or diet profile). With ShelfTorchlight we present a prototype that aims to overcome the problems when searching for a book or a product in a shelf using a mobile camera projector unit. In addition we show the advantages of semantic zooms when projecting information into theses shelves. With the miniaturization of mobile projectors, also called pico projectors, the integration of these projectors into mobile phones is now possible. These phones allow a variety of new applications evolving from the ability to expand the interaction space of the phone to the environment. The prototype described in this paper, ShelfTorchlight, is such an application, trying to demonstrate the interaction possibilities of these new devices. A user can highlight the object she is looking for in the shelf and get additional information.
Adaptive broadcast for travel and traffic information distribution based on inter-vehicle communication

Conventional Traffic and Travel Information (TTI) systems are based on a centralized structure: Sensors deployed at the roadside monitor the traffic and transmit the results to a central unit, which performs a situation analysis. TTI is made available to the drivers via broadcast service (e.g. TMC/RDS) or on demand via cellular phone. In contrast to this centralized approach. a decentralized, Self-Organizing Traffic Information System (SOTIS) based on Inter-Vehicle Communication (IVC) has many advantages: It requires no expensive infrastructure. can provide detailed information for the local area with low delay and is available everywhere. In such an IVC based decentralized system, TTI is sensed by each individual vehicle. The information is analyzed, combined with TTI received from other vehicles and the results are distributed using recurring broadcast packets. In this paper; an adaptive broadcast scheme for efficient TTI distribution called Provoked Broadcast is presented. The algorithm favors the propagation of significant TTI changes within the self-organizing network. Nodes adapt their communication behavior to the local environment and avoid redundant transmissions. The performance of the proposed scheme is evaluated by using simulations of typical traffic scenarios. Compared to a strictly periodic broadcast, the new scheme decreases the average error of information available at an individual vehicle and still requires significantly less bandwidth.
An Automated Approach for SIMD Kernel Generation for GPU based Software Acceleration

Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) are highly parallel Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) engines, with extremely high degrees of available hardware parallelism. The task of implementing a software routine on a GPU currently requires significant manual design, iteration and experimentation. This paper presents an automated approach to partition a software application into kernels (which are executed in parallel) that can be run on the GPU. Experimental results demonstrate that our approach correctly and efficiently produces fast GPU code, with high quality. We show that with our partitioning approach, we can speedup certain routines by as high as 71% (on avg. 25%) when compared to a monolithic (unpartitioned) implementation. Our entire technique (from reading a C subroutine to generating the partitioned GPU code) is completely automated, and has been verified for correctness.
A Government Decision Analytics Framework Based on Citizen Opinion

This ongoing research aims to develop a Government Decision Support Framework that employs citizen opinions and sentiments to predict the level of acceptance of newly proposed policies. The system relies on a knowledge base of citizen opinions and an Ontological Model comprising aspects and related terms of different policy domains as an input and a Bayesian predictive procedure. The work proceeds in four basic steps. The first step involves developing domain models comprising aspects for different policy domains in government and automatically acquiring semantically related terms for these aspects from associated policy documents. The second step involves computing citizen sentiments and opinions for the different policy aspects. The third involves updating the ontology with the computed sentiments and the last step involves employing a Bayesian Predictive Process to predict likely citizen opinion for a new proposal (policy) based on information available in the ontology. We provide some background to this work, describe our approach in some detail and discuss the progress made.
Cell type-specific pharmacology of NMDA receptors using masked MK801

N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDA-Rs) are ion channels that are important for synaptic plasticity, which is involved in learning and drug addiction. We show enzymatic targeting of an NMDA-R antagonist, MK801, to a molecularly defined neuronal population with the cell-type-selectivity of genetic methods and the temporal control of pharmacology. We find that NMDA-Rs on dopamine neurons are necessary for cocaine-induced synaptic potentiation, demonstrating that cell type-specific pharmacology can be used to dissect signaling pathways within complex brain circuits. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.10206. 001
Adaptive interaction for enabling pervasive services

We describe an architecture that allows mobile users to access a variety of services provided by pervasive computing environments. Novel to our approach is that the system selects and executes services taking into account arbitrary contextual information (e.g. location or preferences). Our architecture is based on an adaptive service interaction scheme; individual service requests are attributed by context constraints, which specify the adaption policy. Context constraints may relate to spatial or temporal concerns. We propose a document-based approach; so called Context-Aware Packets (CAPs) contain context constraints and data for describing an entire service request. Intermediary network nodes route and apply the data to services, which match the embedded constraints. Services are identified by characterizing attributes, rather then explicit network addresses. The execution of selected services may be deferred, and triggered by a specific event. Service requests carry the context of their use, therefore our system works well in environments with intermitted connectivity, less interaction with the issuing requester is required.
Physiology and interaction of nitrate and nitrite reduction in Staphylococcus carnosus

Staphylococcus carnosus reduces nitrate to ammonia in two steps. (i) Nitrate was taken up and reduced to nitrite, and nitrite was subsequently excreted. (ii) After depletion of nitrate, the accumulated nitrite was imported and reduced to ammonia, which again accumulated in the medium. The localization, energy gain, and induction of the nitrate and nitrite reductases in S. carnosus were characterized. Nitrate reductase seems to be a membrane-bound enzyme involved in respiratory energy conservation, whereas nitrite reductase seems to be a cytosolic enzyme involved in NADH reoxidation. Syntheses of both enzymes are inhibited by oxygen and induced to greater or lesser degrees by nitrate or nitrite, respectively. In whole cells, nitrite reduction is inhibited by nitrate and also by high concentrations of nitrite (> or = 10 mM). Nitrite did not influence nitrate reduction. Two possible mechanisms for the inhibition of nitrite reduction by nitrate that are not mutually exclusive are discussed. (i) Competition for NADH nitrate reductase is expected to oxidize the bulk of the NADH because of its higher specific activity. (ii) The high rate of nitrate reduction could lead to an internal accumulation of nitrite, possibly the result of a less efficient nitrite reduction or export. So far, we have no evidence for the presence of other dissimilatory or assimilatory nitrate or nitrite reductases in S. carnosus.
A mathematical approach to the connectivity between the cortical visual areas of the macaque monkey.

The visual cortex of the macaque monkey is divided into many distinct visual information processing areas. In many cases, anatomical and physiological results allow one to determine the presence or the absence of neuronal connections from one area to another. We have approached the topology of this neuronal network within the mathematical framework of graph theory. At first, we studied the unknown part of the network, i.e. the part where anatomical and physiological results are lacking. Relying on a specific topological property of the network established on the known part, we developed an interpolation algorithm for reducing the level of uncertainty concerning the unknown part. From these results, we then constructed a connectional model of the neuronal network for the entire cortical visual system. Subsequently, a topological analysis of this model, with the help of factorial analysis and clustering technics, shows its structural properties and singular vertices. This analysis suggests the existence of two distinct classes of areas, one in the parietal part of the cortex and the other in the temporal part, which are connected to each other via relay areas, especially involving the frontal eye field. These results may help to understand the functional role of particular cortical areas in vision and, more generally, to explore how visual information flows within the visual cortex.
Changes in 18F-FDG tumor metabolism after a first course of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer: influence of tumor subtypes.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of the different breast cancer subtypes on the tumor (18)F-FDG uptake at baseline and on its changes after the first course of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). PATIENTS AND METHODS One hundred and fifteen women with newly diagnosed, large or locally advanced breast cancer undergoing NAC were included. Estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and HER2 status were used to define three major tumor subtypes: triple negative (TN) (ER-/PR-/HER2-), luminal (ER+ and/or PR+; HER2-) and HER2 positive (HER2+). Using Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography, the tumoral standard uptake value (SUV) maximal index was measured at baseline and just before the second course of NAC. RESULTS TN tumors presented the highest baseline SUV (11.3 ± 8.5; P < 0.0001). The decrease of SUV after the first course of NAC (ΔSUV) was significantly higher in TN and HER2-positive subtypes (-45% ± 25% and -57% ± 30%, respectively) than in luminal one (-19% ± 35%; P < 0.0001). ΔSUV was a predictive factor of the pathological complete response only in HER2-positive tumors (cut-off = -75%; P < 0.03) with an accuracy of 76%. CONCLUSION The baseline (18)F-FDG tumoral uptake but also its early response to NAC is different according to the immunohistological subtypes of breast cancer.
The translation of recombinant proteins in E. coli can be improved by in silico generating and screening random libraries of a −70/+96 mRNA region with respect to the translation initiation codon

Recombinant protein translation in Escherichia coli may be limited by stable (i.e. low free energy) secondary structures in the mRNA translation initiation region. To circumvent this issue, we have set-up a computer tool called ‘ExEnSo’ (Expression Enhancer Software) that generates a random library of 8192 sequences, calculates the free energy of secondary structures of each sequence in the −70/+96 region (base 1 is the translation initiation codon), and then selects the sequence having the highest free energy. The software uses this ‘optimized’ sequence to create a 5′ primer that can be used in PCR experiments to amplify the coding sequence of interest prior to sub-cloning into a prokaryotic expression vector. In this article, we report how ExEnSo was set-up and the results obtained with nine coding sequences with low expression levels in E. coli. The free energy of the −70/+96 region of all these coding sequences was increased compared to the non-optimized sequences. Moreover, the protein expression of eight out of nine of these coding sequences was increased in E. coli, indicating a good correlation between in silico and in vivo results. ExEnSo is available as a free online tool.
Role of Dot 1-Dependent Histone H 3 Methylation in G 1 and S Phase DNA Damage Checkpoint Functions of Rad 9

We screened radiation-sensitive yeast mutants for DNA damage checkpoint defects and identified Dot1, the conserved histone H3 Lys 79 methyltransferase. DOT1 deletion mutants (dot1 ) are G1 and intra-S phase checkpoint defective after ionizing radiation but remain competent for G2/M arrest. Mutations that affect Dot1 function such as Rad6-Bre1/Paf1 pathway gene deletions or mutation of H2B Lys 123 or H3 Lys 79 share dot1 checkpoint defects. Whereas dot1 alone confers minimal DNA damage sensitivity, combining dot1 with histone methyltransferase mutations set1 and set2 markedly enhances lethality. Interestingly, set1 and set2 mutants remain G1 checkpoint competent, but set1 displays a mild S phase checkpoint defect. In human cells, H3 Lys 79 methylation by hDOT1L likely mediates recruitment of the signaling protein 53BP1 via its paired tudor domains to double-strand breaks (DSBs). Consistent with this paradigm, loss of Dot1 prevents activation of the yeast 53BP1 ortholog Rad9 or Chk2 homolog Rad53 and decreases binding of Rad9 to DSBs after DNA damage. Mutation of Rad9 to alter tudor domain binding to methylated Lys 79 phenocopies the dot1 checkpoint defect and blocks Rad53 phosphorylation. These results indicate a key role for chromatin and methylation of histone H3 Lys 79 in yeast DNA damage signaling.
Cognitive Mapping Without Sight: four preliminary studies of spatial learning

This paper illustrates the application of cognitive mapping to people with visual impairments and blindness. It gives perspectives on past research, outlines ongoing research, highlights some of the methodological and validity issues arising from this research, and discusses the movement of theory into practice. The findings of three small preliminary studies have been reported, as part of continuing research into the cognitive mapping abilities of blind or visually impaired people. These studies have highlighted the need to use multiple, mutually supportive tests to assess cognitive map knowledge. In light of these findings and the need to move theory into practice, a current research project is outlined. This project seeks to use the knowledge gained from the three projects to design and implement an auditory hypermap system to aid wayfinding and the spatial learning of an area. Finally an agenda for applied research is presented.