Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Urban political strategies in times of crisis: A multiscalar perspective on smart cities in Italy

European cities are experiencing a mushrooming of a new urban imagery amid multiple types of crisis. In fact, the ‘smart city’ has become a widely spread vision used by a variety of powerful key actors as well as a top-down urban political strategy that is applied in order to promote new arrangements, models and technologies for almost all policy areas. By using the Italian case as a point of reference, this paper analyses how smart city strategies are institutionalized and embedded in times of crisis on different spatial scales. Therefore, the paper adapts a strategic-relational approach that provides a conceptual framework for understanding the spatial dimension of smart city strategies. It argues that smart city strategies reflect a set of multiscalar political strategies leading to new responsibilities and powers on a local scale, as well as the creation of new state territoriality. Smart cities in Italy are part of metropolitan reforms that strengthen the role of large cities while reproducing existing territorial inequalities. Furthermore, they are used to create new public–private partnerships and new investment opportunities on different spatial scales. In addition, a content analysis of smart city rankings and reports sheds light on the modes of representation of smart city strategies, analysing them as elements of policymaking in times of crisis.
Recent studies on the roles of antiglycosphingolipids in the pathogenesis of neurological disorders

Evidence is mounting to suggest a causal role of humoral immunity arising from antiglycosphingolipid (GSL) antibodies in a variety of neurological disorders. These disorders include the demyelinating and axonal forms of Guillain‐Barre syndrome, multifocal motor neuropathy, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy, and IgM paraproteinemia. Many claims have been made regarding other neurological disorders, which should be carefully scrutinized for their validity, based on several criteria proposed in this review. These criteria include 1) characterization of the causative antigens and immunoglobulins, 2) correlation of the pathological lesions and clinical manifestation of the antigens, 3) establishment of animal models using pure GSLs as the antigens, 4) immunopathogenic mechanisms of the neurodenerative process, 5) mechanisms for the malfunctioning of blood–nerve barrier and the ensuing leakage of circulating antibodies into peripheral nerve parenchyma, and 6) the roles of anti‐GSL antibodies that may cause humorally mediated nerve dysfunction and injury as well as interference with ion channel function at the node of Ranvier, where carbohydrate epitopes are located. Finally, the origin of the anti‐GSL antibodies is discussed in light of the recent circumstantial evidence pointing to a molecular mimicry mechanism with infectious agents. With a better understanding of the immunopathogenic mechanisms, it will then be possible to devise rational and effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for the treatment of these neurological disorders. J. Neurosci. Res. 65:363–370, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Multi-hop Decode-and-Forward relaying in a wireless ad hoc networks

Multi-hop relaying over long distance is efficient to solve transmitter-power problem and mitigate wireless channel impairment. This paper provides a multi-hop relaying with Decode-and-Forward(DF) strategy in a wireless ad hoc network considering both noise and interference. Furthermore, we consider a realistic communication model where interferers are randomly scattered and uncoordinated with Poisson distribution. We analyze exact outage probability and spectral efficiency of a multi-hop DF relaying. From numerical results, multi-hop DF relaying has better performance than dual-hop relaying in terms of both outage probability and spectral efficiency.
Cross-Cultural Effects on the Budgeting Cycle: The Impact of Power Distance on Participation, Voice, and Explanation in the Libyan Oil Sector

Globalization is causing the rapid integration of markets, nations, and technology, which facilitates faster contact between people, corporations, and nations. However, there is a failure to notice cultural differences that exist between workforces across nations. Therefore, all employees need to have cultural sensitivity, which could be helped by studying cross-cultural differences. Current understanding of how and why differences in budgeting processes can be attributed to cultural differences is important. In this context, cultural influence on budgeting processes has been extensively researched in manufacturing and service industries but has been rarely studied in relation to the culturally diverse oil and gas industry. This study utilizes the societal cultural dimension “power distance” identified by Hofstede to identify differences in budgeting processes in terms of participation, voice, and explanation between Libyan and Anglo-American companies operating in the Libyan oil sector. Results indicate that there are significant differences between Libyan and Anglo-American companies. However, Libyan workers in Libyan companies do not significantly differ from Libyan workers in Anglo-American companies. Libyan workers tend to maintain their own culture when it comes to participation, voice and explanation. The results indicate that there is a statistically significant difference between the two company groups ( t (328) =6.182, p= 0.001). Employees in Anglo-Americans companies received a higher level of explanation ( M = 3.69, SD =0.72) than those in Libyan companies (( M = 3.17, SD =0.73). ANOVA analysis shows statistically significant differences among cultural groups (F (2,327) = 33.806, p=0 . 001). Anglo-Americans receive more explanations about changes in their budgets (M=3.99, SD=0.69), Libyans in Anglo-American companies receive less explanation (M=3.31, SD=0.55), and Libyans in Libyan companies receive the least explanation (M=3.17, SD=0.73). Results from post-hoc comparisons, using Scheffe test because the variances between groups are equal, indicate that there are statically significant differences between Libyans in Libyan companies and Anglo-Americans in Anglo-American companies. Results also indicate there is no significant difference between Libyans in Libyan companies and Libyans in Anglo-American companies while there is a significant difference between Anglo-Americans and Libyans in Anglo-American companies. Therefore, Hypothesis 3 is supported in a similar manner to voice and participation.
Asymmetries in the Sensitivity to Motion in Depth: A Centripetal Bias

It is reasonable to ask whether observers are more sensitive to the pattern of image motion caused by forward locomotion through the environment than to the pattern caused by backward locomotion. The distribution of sensitivities of cells in MT does show such a bias, although this bias is minimal at small eccentricities. Additionally, both locomotion-induced stimulation and the sensitivities of MT cells suggest greater sensitivity should be obtained in the lower visual field. Previous research on this issue has usually employed frontoparallel motion in patterns presented to one side of the fixation point. Both centrifugal and centripetal biases have been obtained. In this study the stimuli present motion signals that travel radially from (or towards) the fixation point. These stimuli, which produce a strong percept of motion in depth, are an adaptation of the global-dot-motion stimulus employed by Newsome and Pare. With these stimuli we find that sensitivity to motion in depth is greater in the lower visual field than in the upper visual field, and that sensitivity is greater to centripetal motion than to either centrifugal or frontoparallel motion. This centrifugal bias in sensitivity decreases with eccentricity. The last two findings contradict the notion that the bias is produced by the visual experience induced by normal forward locomotion and also that the detection of motion in depth is subserved by MT.
Cerebellar gray and white matter volume and their relation with age and manual motor performance in healthy older adults

Functional neuroimaging and voxel‐based morphometry studies have confirmed the important role of the cerebellum in motor behavior. However, little is known about the relationship between cerebellar gray (GMv) and white matter (WMv) volume and manual motor performance in aging individuals. This study aims to quantify the relationship between cerebellar tissue volume and manual motor performance.
Understanding the Multidimensional Factors that Influence HIV Testing among Women in the Democratic Republic of Congo

vi TABLE OF CONTENTS . viii LIST OF TABLES . ix LIST OF FIGURES . x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE . 23 CHAPTER 3: METHODS . 40 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS . 55 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION . 84 REFERENCES . 96 GLOSSARY . 107 APPENDIX . 108 VITA . 124
Differences in Productivity or Discrimination? Latin American and Caribbean Immigrants in the US Labor Market

This paper examines the salary gap between the native-born population in the United States and immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean. Using the decomposition analysis developed by Oaxaca (1973), the article uses information from the 2003 Current Population Survey (CPS) to establish the degree to which the salary gap between these two groups is due to differences in productivity vs. differences in treatment of certain groups. The analysis places Latin American and Caribbean immigrants into seven groups: Mexicans, Cubans, Dominicans, Jamaicans and Haitians, Central Americans (Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Hondurans and Nicaraguans), South Americans (Colombians, Ecuadorians and Peruvians), and an “other” category that includes all other immigrants from the region. The native-born population is divided into White non-Hispanics and African-Americans. These groupings are intended to reflect the increase in immigration to the United States from these countries between 1980 and 2000. The first section discusses the principal theories that have been employed to explain differences in salary between males and females. The second section offers a brief overview of salary distribution in the United States as well as information about workers’ salaries based on place of origin, sex, and level of education. The third section examines the salary gap between native-born workers and immigrants, as well as between males and females within each group. The fourth section discusses the need to correct for selection bias in the data when analyzing salaries. The final section discusses implications of the research findings for U.S. immigration policy.
Pimonidazole: a novel hypoxia marker for complementary study of tumor hypoxia and cell proliferation in cervical carcinoma.

BACKGROUND Tumor hypoxia may be associated with treatment resistance, cell proliferation, and metastatic potential, which contribute to poor prognosis. Complementary techniques for detecting hypoxia, cell growth, and metastases are required to study these relationships. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the clinical feasibility of quantitative hypoxia detection with pimonidazole, a novel hypoxia marker, and to correlate hypoxia with S-phase markers of tumor proliferation. METHODS Pimonidazole binds to thiol-containing proteins specifically in hypoxic cells. Ten patients with cervical carcinoma received 0.5 g/m2 pimonidazole intravenously followed by biopsy of the cervical carcinoma the next day. Hypoxic cells were recognized by immunohistochemical detection of pimonidazole using a mouse monoclonal antibody. Cell proliferation was detected with a commercially available monoclonal antibody for proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Assessment of hypoxia and cell proliferation was made qualitatively with light microscopy and quantitatively using point counting and image analysis software methods. RESULTS No clinical toxic effects were associated with pimonidazole administration. Immunostaining with pimonidazole antibody was observed in 9 of 10 tumors, suggesting that hypoxia is a common occurrence in cervical carcinoma. Quantitatively, tumors that had large numbers of hypoxic cells had the greatest percentage of S-phase cells, but some tumors with smaller amounts of hypoxia also had substantial numbers of S-phase cells. CONCLUSION Pimonidazole can be used for qualitative and quantitative assessment of tumor hypoxia.
Laboratory and field evaluation of insect repellents as oviposition deterrents against the mosquito Aedes albopictus

Abstract. Three experimental approaches were used to evaluate the oviposition deterrency of three insect repellents, AI3‐35765, AI3‐37220 (piperidine compounds), and the standard N,N‐diethyl‐3‐methylbenzamide (deet) to the mosquito Aedes albopictus Skuse (Diptera: Culicidae). Against laboratory‐reared Ae. albopictus gravid females, the EC50 values of AI3‐37220, AI3‐35765 and deet were 0.004%, 0.008% and 0.011% in laboratory cages and 0.004%, 0.01% and 0.009% in an outdoor screened cage. For a natural population of Ae. albopictus tested in the field, the EC50 values were determined as 0.004%, 0.008% and 0.001%, respectively. Ageing concentrations of 0.1% of each repellent provided > 50% effective oviposition deterrency against the laboratory population of Ae. albopictus for 13 days in laboratory cages, for 15 days in the outdoor cage, and for 21 days against field population of Ae. albopictus in Florida. These topical skin repellents are effective oviposition deterrents for Ae. albopictus when employed at relatively low application rates.
Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I Molecules Expressed with Monoglucosylated N-Linked Glycans Bind Calreticulin Independently of Their Assembly Status*

The assembly of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules with peptides in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a critical step in the presentation of viral antigens to CD8+ T cells. This process is subject to quality control restrictions that prevent free class I heavy chains (HCs) and peptide-free HC-β2-microglobulin (β2m) dimers from exiting the ER. The lectin-like chaperone calreticulin associates with HC-β2m heterodimers prior to peptide binding, but its precise role in regulating the subsequent events of peptide association and ER to Golgi transport remains undefined. In vitro analysis of the assembly process has been limited by the specificity of calreticulin for monoglucosylated N-linked glycans, which are transient biosynthetic intermediates. To address this problem, we developed a novel expression system using Saccharomyces cerevisiae glycosylation mutants to produce class I HC bearing N-linked oligosaccharides with the specific structure Glc1Man9GlcNAc2. The monoglucosylated glycan proved to be both necessary and sufficient for in vitro binding of calreticulin to MHC class I molecules. Calreticulin bound as efficiently to peptide-loaded MHC class I complexes as it did to folding intermediates created in vitro, namely free class I HC and empty HC-β2m heterodimers. Thus, calreticulin is unable to discriminate between native and non-native MHC class I conformations and therefore unlikely to play a role in the recognition and release of peptide-loaded complexes from the ER. Furthermore, the recombinant expression system developed in this study can be used to produce a broad range of calreticulin substrates to elucidate its general mechanism of activity in vitro.
Dynamic average consensus estimation over stochastically switching network via quantization communication

In this paper, we consider the problem that a group of agents aims to compute the average of individually estimated noisy parameters by sharing information among a random network of digital links. In this scenario, the average consensus seeking is involved in a two-step procedure. First, each agent estimates the local time-varying parameters individually, and then agents average their estimations by interaction with neighbors through quantized communication. Impact of quantization on the performance of the proposed distributed algorithm is investigated. We prove that the agents' states converge to a random variable that deviates from the average of the estimated parameters. We derive an upper bound for the asymptotic residual mean square error of the states, which captures effects of the quantization precision and the structure of the random communication networks.
Socioeconomic marginalization and plasma HIV-1 RNA nondetectability among individuals who use illicit drugs in a Canadian setting

Objective:Given that people who use illicit drugs (PWUD) often engage in prohibited income generation to support their basic needs, we sought to examine the role of these activities in shaping antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and plasma HIV RNA-1 viral load suppression among HIV-infected PWUD. Design:Longitudinal analyses among HIV-positive, ART-exposed PWUD in the AIDS Care Cohort to evaluate Exposure to Survival Services prospective cohort study (2005–2013). Methods:Generalized linear mixed-effects and mediation analyses examined the relationship between prohibited income generation (e.g., sex work, drug dealing, theft, street-based income) and virologic suppression (plasma viral load ⩽50 copies/ml plasma) adjusting for adherence and potential confounders. Results:Among 687 HIV-infected PWUD, 391 (56.9%) individuals reported prohibited income generation activity during the study period. In multivariate analyses, prohibited income generation remained independently and negatively associated with virologic suppression (adjusted odds ratio: 0.68, 95% confidence interval: 0.52–0.88) following adjustment for hypothesized confounders, including high-intensity drug use, ART adherence and homelessness. Although partially mediated by ART adherence, the relationship between prohibited income generation and virologic suppression was maintained in mediation analyses (Sobel statistic = −1.95, P = 0.05). Conclusion:Involvement in prohibited income generation decreases the likelihood of virologic suppression directly and indirectly through its negative association with ART adherence. These findings suggest that linkages between socioeconomic marginalization, the criminalization of illicit drug use, and insufficient employment opportunities may produce barriers to access and retention in care. Programmatic and policy interventions that decrease socioeconomic vulnerability may therefore reduce HIV-related morbidity, mortality, and onward transmission.
Contribution of cultural intelligence to adaptive selling and customer-oriented selling of salespeople at international trade shows: does cultural similarity matter?

Purpose This study aims to examine the contribution of cultural intelligence (CQ) to the level of adaptive selling behavior and customer-oriented selling behavior of salespeople in a cross-cultural selling context. Design/methodology/approach This study collected data from a total of 210 Thai salespeople who had been assigned to work at trade shows in Japan (n = 110) and in Vietnam (n = 100). Findings The findings show that salespeople with higher CQ tend to demonstrate a higher degree of adaptive selling behavior and customer-oriented selling behavior in both countries. The moderating effect analysis shows that the positive relationship between CQ and adaptive selling behavior is significantly higher for Thai salespeople in Japanese trade shows than in Vietnamese trade shows. Research limitations/implications This study uses cross-sectional data collection; therefore, the results have been interpreted as associations, but not causations. Practical implications The study suggests that CQ development programs could be considered as part of the training that organizations provide to salespeople to develop cross-cultural competencies to deal effectively with foreign customers. Originality/value This study provides additional evidence concerning the benefits of CQ in an occupational area that has not been previously explored. More importantly, the result regarding the positive linkage between CQ and adaptive selling behavior was significantly stronger in the country characterized by higher cultural differences. This also contributed to CQ research by showing that differences in a cultural context might also influence the benefits of CQ in relation to the outcome variables.
Stepping through an RNA structure: A novel approach to conformational analysis.

Drawing from the growing database of complex three-dimensional RNA structures, a systematic method has been developed for classifying and analyzing the variety of conformations adopted by nucleic acids. This method is based on the development of a reduced representation for nucleic acid backbone conformation, simplifying the formidable eight-dimensional problem that has long complicated nucleic acid conformational analysis. Two pseudotorsion angles (eta and theta) have been defined, based on the selection of two appropriate pivot points along the RNA backbone, P and C4'. These pseudotorsions, together with a complete library of conventional torsion angles, can be calculated for any RNA structure or all-atom model using a new program called AMIGOS. Having computed eta and theta pseudotorsions for each position on an RNA molecule, they can be represented on a two-dimensional plot similar to the phi-phi plots that have traditionally been used for protein conformational analysis. Like a Ramachandran plot, clusters of residues appear at discrete regions on an eta-theta plot. Nucleotides within these clusters share conformational properties, often belonging to the same type of structural motif such as A-platforms, sheared tandem purine-purine pairs and GNRA tetraloops. An eta-theta plot provides a two-dimensional representation of the conformational properties of an entire RNA molecule, facilitating rapid analysis of structural features. In addition to the utility of eta-theta plots for intuitive visualization of conformational space, the pseudotorsional convention described here should significantly simplify approaches to macromolecular modeling of RNA structure.