Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Strategic positioning: How policy research actors situate their intellectual labour to gain symbolic resources from multiple fields

The process of knowledge production involves negotiating several social worlds, whereby actors engage in positioning and repositioning to situate their intellectual labour and gain symbolic resources. This article considers the strategic positioning of policy research actors using interview and document data. It sets out the ways in which individual and institutional actors negotiate and situate their intellectual practice in order to gain capital from a range of relevant fields. The article considers how organisations position themselves in relation to other institutions, and how individual researchers position themselves vis-a-vis their own organisations and others in the hybrid space between more established fields. It demonstrates how identities are constructed in a relational way via comparison and juxtaposition in the liminal space of international development. In doing so, it directs attention to the strategic practices involved in the production of meaningful intellectual interventions.
hetGP: Heteroskedastic Gaussian Process Modeling and Sequential Design in R

An increasing number of time-consuming simulators exhibit a complex noise structure that depends on the inputs. For conducting studies with limited budgets of evaluations, new surrogate methods are required in order to simultaneously model the mean and variance fields. To this end, we present the hetGP package, implementing many recent advances in Gaussian process modeling with input-dependent noise. First, we describe a simple, yet efficient, joint modeling framework that relies on replication for both speed and accuracy. Then we tackle the issue of data acquisition leveraging replication and exploration in a sequential manner for various goals, such as for obtaining a globally accurate model, for optimization, or for contour finding. Reproducible illustrations are provided throughout.
Ginseng Ameliorates Effect of Prolonged Use of Omeprazole in Rat Renal Cortex through Decreasing Inflammation, Fibrosis and Apoptosis

Omeprazole is used in acid-related gastrointestinal disorders but has prolonged usage adverse effects. The aim was to study changes in renal cortex following chronic Omeprazole administration and the possible protective role of ginseng. Rats were divided into control (C-), Ginseng (G-), omeprazole (OM-), and omeprazole-ginseng (OM-G) groups. Serum urea and creatinine levels and 24-hours urine-protein were determined. Kidneys were processed for histological study. Serum urea and creatinine and 24-hours protein were significantly higher in OM-group compared to controls and significantly decreased in OM-G group comparing to OM-group. OM-group showed significant glomerular and tubulointerstitial injury with vascular congestion, inflammatory cell infiltration, partial or complete damage of apical brush border of most tubules, interrupted basement membranes of glomerular capillaries and tubules, marked increase in collagen deposition, and significant increases in COX-2 and caspase-3 immune-expression. Co-administration of ginseng with omeprazole resulted in marked and significant improvement of these morphological changes. Conclusion Omeprazole induced renal functional and morphological changes through inflammatory reaction, induction of fibrosis, cellular degeneration and apoptosis. Co-administration of ginseng ameliorated these effects through its anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic, and anti-apoptotic effects.
A Discrete Choice Experiment to Evaluate Blood Glucose Meter Preferences in People with Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes in the UK

Background: Self-monitoring of blood glucose helps diabetic patients adjust their management strategies proactively, thus avoiding complications which place a burden on healthcare resources. It is hypothesised that some blood glucose meter attributes may influence patients’ choice. Objective: The aim of this study is to elicit diabetic patients’ preferences for attributes associated with blood glucose meters. Methods: A cross-sectional, web-based survey of UK patients with Type 1 and type 2 diabetes was conducted and preferences for attributes associated with blood glucose meters were estimated using a discrete choice experiment (DCE) framework. Results: Type 1 respondents considered ‘time to test’ to be the most critical factor and were willing to trade a compact device (2.61 units), or convenience (1.37 units) for a device that could produce test results in under 30 seconds. Type 2 respondents preferred the low maintenance attribute and were most willing to trade a compact device (2.72 units) or convenience (1.37 units) for this attribute. Conclusions: The DCE has elicited preference weightings for five key glucose meter attributes for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetic patients. Devices that provide value added features such as offline storage of data and additional data analysis will be valued by both Type 1 and Type 2 patients whereas a compact device is less valued.
Ortaokul Öğrencilerinin Beden Eğitimi Ve Spor Dersine Yönelik Tutumları İle Öğrenmeye Karşı Sorumluluk Davranışları Arasındaki İlişkinin İncelenmesi

Bu calismanin amaci, Kutahya ili Simav Ilcesinde Orta Okul ogrencilerinin Beden Egitimi ve Spor dersine yonelik tutumlari ile ogrenmeye karsi sorumluluk davranislari arasindaki iliskinin incelenmesi amaciyla yapilmistir. Calismamiza, Simav’da ogrenim goren Hisar Bey Orta Okulu, Nasa Orta Okulu ve Imam Hatip Orta Okulundan 6.sinif, 7. sinif, 8. Sinif ogrencileri 135 kadin 180 Erkek olmak uzere toplam 315 ogrenci denek olarak katilmistir. Ogrenci tutumlarinin olculmesi icin gelistirilen “Ilkogretim Ikinci Kademe Ogrencilerinin Beden Egitimi Dersine Iliskin Tutum Olcegi ile Ogrenmeye Yonelik Sorumluluk Olcegi” kullanilmistir. Olcek uc bolumden olusmaktadir. Birinci bolum kisisel bilgilerden olusan 11 maddeden ikinci bolum ise beden egitimi dersine yonelik tutumlara iliskin 5’li Likert tipi 20 maddelik olcekten ucuncu bolum ise ogrencilerin ogrenmeye yonelik sorumluluklara iliskin 5’li Likert tipi 35 maddelik olcekten olusmustur. Beden egitimi ve spor dersine yonelik tutum ve davranis toplam skoru ile ogrenmeye yonelik sorumluluk toplam skorlarinin cinsiyete gore karsilastirildiginda kiz ogrencilerin lehine istatistiksel olarak anlamli fark bulunmustur (p<0.05). Kiz ogrencilerin beden egitimi ve spor dersine yonelik tutum ve davranislari ile ogrenmeye yonelik sorumluluklarinin daha yuksek oldugu tespit edilmistir. Beden egitimi ve spor dersine yonelik tutum ile ogrenme sorumluluklari seviyelerine gore kiz ogrencilerin erkek ogrencilere gore anlamli bir farkla daha iyi durumdadirlar.
A remark about the periodic homogenization of certain composite fibered media

We explain in this paper the similarity arising in the homogenization process of some composite fibered media with the problem of the reduction of dimension \begin{document}$ 3d-1d $\end{document} . More precisely, we highlight the fact that when the homogenization process leads to a local reduction of dimension, studying the homogenization problem in the reference configuration domain of the composite amounts to the study of the corresponding reduction of dimension in the reference cell. We give two examples in the framework of the thermal conduction problem: the first one concerns the reduction of dimension in a thin parallelepiped of size \begin{document}$ \varepsilon $\end{document} containing another thinner parallelepiped of size \begin{document}$ r_ \varepsilon \ll \varepsilon $\end{document} playing a role of a "hole". As in the homogenization, the one-dimensional limit problem involves a "strange term". In addition both limit problems have the same structure. In the second example, the geometry is similar but now we assume a high contrast between the conductivity (of order \begin{document}$ 1 $\end{document} ) in the small parallelepiped of size \begin{document}$ r_ \varepsilon : = r \varepsilon $\end{document} , for some fixed \begin{document}$ r $\end{document} ( \begin{document}$ 0 ) and the conductivity (of order \begin{document}$ \varepsilon^2 $\end{document} ) in the big parallelepiped of size \begin{document}$ \varepsilon $\end{document} . We prove that the limit problem is a nonlocal problem and that it has the same structure as the corresponding periodic homogenized problem.
LncRNA np_5318 promotes renal ischemia-reperfusion injury through the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway

Long noncoding (Lnc)RNA np_5318 has been proved to be involved in renal injury, while its functionality in renal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is unknown. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the role of lncRNA np_5318 in the development of renal I/R injury. Renal I/R injury model and I/R cell model were established in vitro. The expression of np_5318 in I/R cell was inhibited by small interfering (si)-np_5318 and increased by pc-np_5318. Renal function was detected and evaluated by automatic biochemical tests. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to detect the expression cluster of differentiation (CD)31, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 and (mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 3) Smad3 in renal tissue. The interaction between np_5318 and Smad3 was verified by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). Western blotting was performed to detect the expression levels of TGF-β1, Smad3 and phosphorylated (p)-Smad3 in renal tissue and renal cells. Expression of np_5318 in renal tissue and renal cells was detected by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. Relative cell viability was confirmed by MTT assay. Renal function was impaired and pathological changes in renal tissue were observed in the renal I/R injury group, indicating the renal I/R injury model was successfully established. Compared with the sham group, the expression level of np_5318 significantly increased in the renal I/R injury group. ChIP data confirmed the interaction between np_5318 and Smad3. The expression of TGF-β1, Smad3 and p-Smad3 in renal tissue was also significantly increased in the renal I/R injury group. Furthermore, the I/R cell model in vitro was successfully constructed and np_5318 in I/R group was significantly increased compared with the control group. Cell growth was significantly suppressed in the I/R group compared with the control group. Additionally, transfection with pc-np_5318 significantly inhibited cell growth of I/R cells at 48 and 72 h. While inhibition of np_5318 by si-np_5318 significantly increased the cell growth of I/R cells at 48 and 72 h. Moreover, the level of TGF-β1, p-Smad3 and Smad3 was significantly increased in the I/R group compared with the control group, and transfection with pc-np_5318 significantly increased the level of TGF-β1, p-Smad3 and Smad3. While inhibition of np_5318 by si-np_5318 significantly suppressed the level of TGF-β1, p-Smad3 and Smad3. LncRNA np_5318 may participate in the development of renal I/R injury through TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway.
Distribution and localization of phosphatidylinositol 5-phosphate, 4-kinase alpha and beta in the brain

Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PI-4,5-P2) is critical for synaptic vesicle docking and fusion and generation of the second messengers, diacylglycerol and inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate. PI-4,5-P2 can be generated by two families of kinases: type 1 phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinases, encoded by PIP5K1A, PIP5K1B and PIP5K1C, and type 2 phosphatidylinositol-5-phosphate 4-kinases, encoded by PIP4K2A, PIP4K2B, and PIP4K2C. While the roles of the type 1 enzymes in brain function have been extensively studied, the roles of the type 2 enzymes are poorly understood. Using selective antibodies validated by genetic deletion of pip4k2a or pip4k2b in mouse brain, we characterized the location of the enzymes, PI5P4Kα and PI5P4Kß, encoded by these genes. In mice, we demonstrate that PI5P4Kα is expressed in adulthood, whereas PI5P4Kß is expressed early in development. PI5P4Kα localizes to white matter tracts, especially the corpus callosum, and at a low level in neurons, while PI5P4Kß is expressed in neuronal populations, especially hippocampus and cortex. Dual labeling studies demonstrate that PI5P4Kα co-localizes with the oligodendrocyte marker, Olig2, whereas PI5P4Kß co-localizes with the neuronal marker, NeuN. Immunohistochemical subcellular distribution studies demonstrate that PI5P4Kα and PI5P4Kß are expressed in the early endosome system. Ultrastructural analysis demonstrates that both kinases are contained in axon terminals and dendritic spines adjacent to the synaptic membrane, which support a potential role in synaptic transmission. Immunohistochemical analysis of macaque and human brain tissue demonstrate a conserved pattern for PI5P4Kα and PI5P4Kß. These results highlight the diverse cell-autonomous expression of PI5P4Kα and PI5P4Kß and support further exploration into their role in synaptic function in the brain.
Bedside Lung Monitoring in Order to Optimize Ventilator Settings in ICU Patients

Mechanical ventilation set according to standard protocols or tables is not sufficient for the individual patient. Therefore, we should aim to personalized mechanical ventilation strategies and personalized physiology. The aim of this thesis is to optimize PEEP and the level of ventilatory assist in the individual patient at the bedside, in order to minimize Ventilator Induced Lung Injury (VILI).
CorsNet: 3D Point Cloud Registration by Deep Neural Network

Point cloud registration is a key problem for robotics and computer vision communities. This represents estimating a rigid transform which aligns one point cloud to another. Iterative closest point (ICP) is a well-known classical method for this problem, yet it generally achieves high alignment only when the source and template point cloud are mostly pre-aligned. If each point cloud is far away or contains a repeating structure, the registration often fails because of being fallen into a local minimum. Recently, inspired by PointNet, several deep learning-based methods have been developed. PointNetLK is a representative approach, which directly optimizes the distance of aggregated features using gradient method by Jacobian. In this paper, we propose a point cloud registration system based on deep learning: CorsNet. Since CorsNet concatenates the local features with the global features and regresses correspondences between point clouds, not directly pose or aggregated features, more useful information is integrated than the conventional approaches. For comparison, we also developed a novel deep learning approach (DirectNet) that directly regresses the pose between point clouds. Through our experiments, we show that CorsNet achieves higher accuracy than not only the classic ICP method, but also the recently proposed learning-based proposal PointNetLK and DirectNet, including on seen and unseen categories.
EU Funding and Euroskeptic Vote Choice

Why do voters in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) vote for Euroskeptic political parties? Existing explanations of Euroskepticism suggest that those benefiting economically due to the European Union (EU) are less likely to be Euroskeptic. These approaches fail to take into account the social purpose of EU economic transfers. I argue that the minority advancement realized through EU funding drives voters toward Euroskeptic electoral options. I provide evidence of this relationship through two methods: a large-N statistical analysis and a survey experiment. The large-N analysis employs time-series, regional data from ten CEE member states. The survey experiment tests the hypothesis with a nationally representative sample of the Slovak population. Results from both methods corroborate the hypothesized relationship. Importantly, results suggest that reactionary voters may undermine the long-term institutional goals of the EU due to the short-term consequences of EU policies.
Operating model for global pricing governance

Author(s) Title Lasse Palola Operating model for global pricing governance Number of Pages Date 97 pages + 2 appendices 8 April 2019 Degree Master of Engineering Degree Programme Business Informatics Instructor(s) Thomas Rohweder, DSc (Econ), Principal Lecture Jari Lampikari, Director Tanja Soinsaari, Development Manager The objective of this thesis was to build an operating model for global pricing governance for the case company. The case company is a Finnish listed trading sector company operating internationally in the building and technical trade. The scope of the thesis includes operations in seven countries. The case company includes a centralized unit responsible for global pricing coordination and development of related tools and processes. The case company has identified the need for global pricing governance, and recent mergers and acquisitions have emphasized the situation further. The thesis first focuses on building a conceptual pricing governance framework based on best practices from literature. This theoretical framework was utilized throughout the different phases of the thesis and identified key elements were considered in all phases. The current state analysis describes the differences in how pricing is managed and controlled in different organizations and seeks opportunities to improve pricing performance. The analysis describes the overall business environments, provides information about the pricing management and pricing capabilities and identifies development areas, possible issues and positive findings. The study was mainly conducted as qualitative research consisting of interviews, surveys and reviews of existing documentation. Quantitative research was applied to confirm the findings. Due to restrictions set by the case company, the current state analysis was published only partially. The whole content was available for instructors in a separate appendix. The conceptual framework and findings from the current state analysis were combined to build an initial suggestion of the operating model. The operating model was validated in a feedback session with the case company’s instructors. In conclusion, the operating model consists of different interconnected elements including pricing strategy, pricing policy, pricing process, pricing metrics and KPIs, organizational structure and pricing systems. The benefits of the operational model include immediate and long-term pricing performance increases.
What Happened on Instagram: Instagram Usage Activities and Body Image in Adolescent

Everyone has a diverse evaluation of body image. Positive body image makes adolescents have good selfconfidence and appreciate their strengths. Adolescents use social media to form an ideal image of their bodies. Activities in using Instagram are used by adolescents to build their presentations. This study aims to determine the relationship between the use of Instagram activities on adolescent body image. The subjects used in this study were 100 students aged 16-19 years. Measuring instruments used in this study are the Body Image States Scale (BISS) and the scale of Instagram Use Activities. The data were analyzed using a regression test with a bootstrapping path. The results showed that the activity of using Instagram is not related to adolescent body image (F=0.742).
Design of New SVPWM Mechanism for Three-Level NPC ZSI via Line-Voltage Coordinate System

In this article, a novel space-vector pulsewidth modulation (SVPWM) mechanism is proposed for a three-level neutral-point clamped (NPC) Z-source inverter (ZSI) via the line-voltage coordinate system. In order to solve the problems of the adjustment of the complicated operational region and the complex computation of lookup tables in conventional methods, the newly designed SVPWM mechanism is developed from the basis of the vector synthesis. With this mechanism, switching vectors required to synthesize the reference vector can be easily identified, and the corresponding duty ratios can be directly obtained. According to the volt–second balanced principle and three operational modes of the three-level NPC ZSI, the up shoot-through status is inserted into the left side of the intersection point of the maximum phase modulation signal and the carrier wave signal. On the other hand, the down shoot-through status is inserted into the right side of the intersection point of the minimum phase modulation signal and the carrier wave signal. The effectiveness of the proposed SVPWM mechanism is verified by numerical simulations and experimental results. The salient features of the proposed SVPWM method are easiness in digital implementation, less computation time, and better power quality in comparison with traditional SVPWM schemes.
Tropospheric ozone in CMIP6 simulations

Abstract. The evolution of tropospheric ozone from 1850 to 2100 has been studied using data from Phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). We evaluate long-term changes using coupled atmosphere–ocean chemistry–climate models, focusing on the CMIP Historical and ScenarioMIP ssp370 experiments, for which detailed tropospheric-ozone diagnostics were archived. The model ensemble has been evaluated against a suite of surface, sonde and satellite observations of the past several decades and found to reproduce well the salient spatial, seasonal and decadal variability and trends. The multi-model mean tropospheric-ozone burden increases from 247 ± 36 Tg in 1850 to a mean value of 356 ± 31 Tg for the period 2005–2014, an increase of 44 %. Modelled present-day values agree well with previous determinations (ACCENT: 336 ± 27 Tg; Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Model Intercomparison Project, ACCMIP: 337 ± 23 Tg; Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report, TOAR: 340 ± 34 Tg). In the ssp370 experiments, the ozone burden increases to 416 ± 35 Tg by 2100. The ozone budget has been examined over the same period using lumped ozone production (PO3) and loss (LO3) diagnostics. Both ozone production and chemical loss terms increase steadily over the period 1850 to 2100, with net chemical production (PO3-LO3) reaching a maximum around the year 2000. The residual term, which contains contributions from stratosphere–troposphere transport reaches a minimum around the same time before recovering in the 21st century, while dry deposition increases steadily over the period 1850–2100. Differences between the model residual terms are explained in terms of variation in tropopause height and stratospheric ozone burden.