Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Word-final nasal velarisation in Spanish1

In velarising dialects of Spanish, nasal place contrasts neutralise to [ŋ] word-finally. However, whereas velarisation applies transparently in word-final prepausal environments, place neutralisation ‘overapplies’ to stem-final presuffixal nasals and to word-final nasals which resyllabify into onset position across word boundaries. Yet since previous analyses of Velarising Spanish have been based exclusively on theory-led interpretations of impressionistic data, doubts exist as to whether word-final nasals in velarising dialects are consistently realised as [ŋ] (Baković 2000). The first goal of this paper therefore is to submit the claims put forward in these analyses to empirical testing. Experiments using electropalatography confirm that speakers of Velarising Spanish produce robustly dorso-velar nasals in word-final environments; this result refutes the claim that word-final nasals are placeless in velarising varieties. Secondly, because opaque instances of nasal place neutralisation pose challenges for Optimality Theory (OT), I compare two approaches to modelling the nasal alternations in Velarising Spanish, namely Output–Output correspondence in classic OT and a cyclic analysis in Stratal OT. This comparison reveals that classic OT cannot account for the opaque patterns without stipulating fixed OO-constraint rankings. By contrast, the stratal model straightforwardly predicts the occurrence of both opacity effects on the basis of general architectural principles.
Validation of Biometrical Principles for Genetic Enhancement of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

In the present investigation, the degree of heterosis for seed yield varied considerably. Parent such as ICC 7315, ICC 13124, ICC 15697 and ICC 6877 were good general combiners and could be of use in breeding for improved productivity in chickpea. The top three crosses viz., ICC 11944 x ICC 13124 (16.95), ICC 9137 xICC 13124 (16.63) and ICC 2507 x ICC 2072 (13.10) exhibited highly significant positive (specific combining ability) effect with high per se performance for seed yield/plant. This indicated that the heterotic performance of these hybrids were mainly due to additive gene action. Further, these crosses are having parents with good xgood general combiners. The high Holics effects in these crosses was mainly through additive x additive type of interaction causing heterosis. Hence, direct selection for higher values of seed yield can be made in the advanced generations of the heterotic crosses involving such parents, as a large portion of the total variation is a result of additive gene effects. Considering F2 performance of these hybrids, three of the six highly heterotic F1’s in high diversity group and high mean (ICC 6877 xICC 7315, ICC 6877 xICC 2072 and ICC 6877 x ICC 10755) followed by high coefficient of variation and range. The mean F2 values of these hybrids range from 25.6 to 37g, from 32.2 to 39.0% coefficient of variation and the higher value of range from 41.2 to 43 g/plant. While in case of medium diversity group, three hybrids (ICC 15697 xICC 7315, ICC 3776 xICC 7315 and ICC 3776 xICC 10755) showed relatively high mean values and higher coefficient of variation with reasonably high range of expression but these figures were lower than those of the hybrids in high diversity group. These facts indicate that parents with high diversity have a better chance of showing high heterosis and better performance.
The synthesis and structure of 1-[3-{(2-hydroxybenzylidene)amino}phenyl]ethanone

Two Schiff base ligands SACPNyH 1 and 5BrSACPNyH 2 are synthesized from the condensation reactions of salicylaldehyde and 5-bromosalicylaldchydc respectively with 3-aminoacetophenone and characterized by elemental analyses, mass, electronic, infrared spectral studies. The molecular structure of 1 is determined by the single crystal X-ray crystallographic study. Space group.monoclinic, P2 1 /m: Z = 4; a = 14.8717(11)A. b = 5.4559(4) A. c = 16.7192(12) A, p = 115.959(3)°.
Decomposing Inequality in Compulsory Education Finance in China: 1998–2008

In recent decades, the inequality in compulsory education finance in China has remained a widespread and serious problem. Based on a provincial-level dataset in the period of 1998–2008, this study analyzed the disparities of school funding in China, attempting to explore the important factors that may have contributed to the inequality. Using the methods of factor decomposition and regression-based decomposition of Gini coefficient, it showed that the inequality of school funding had not been reduced after recent governmental reforms. The level of economic development appeared to be highly associated with the inequality of expenditures for compulsory education. The empirical results of this analysis suggest that a sound system of intergovernmental fiscal transfers with built-in equalization features may need to be developed in China.
Direct shoot organogenesis of Digitalis trojana Ivan., an endemic medicinal herb of Turkey

An efficient protocol for in vitro propagation of Digitalis trojana Ivan. was developed via adventitious shoot regeneration. Leaf explants were cultured on MS which were supplemented with different concentrations of NAA (0.1, 0.5, 1.0 mg/ml) and BAP (0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0 mg/ml) for shoot formation. Adventitious shoots were formed on leaf explants within three weeks in culture. The best shoot proliferation was observed among explants cultured on MS medium with 0.1 mg/ml NAA + 3.0 mg/ml BAP. Regenerated shoots were multiplicated by subculture. Then they were cultured on MS with 0.1% (w/v) activated charcoal for root formation. All of the in vitro regenerated plantlets were successfully acclimatized ex vitro and then grown healthy.
customers market: The interactional co-construction of exclusion by employers and Young adults of ethnic minority background on the Norwegian labour

Labour market participation is commonly conceptualized as an indicator of immigrant integration, although integration is not something that should be conflated with inclusion. The mere fact of employment is no silver bullet. The sociology of work needs to consider experiences of exclusion both before and after entry to the labour market. This article is based on a 25-case selection of 50 in-depth interviews that we conducted with young adults of ethnic minority background in Norway. We analyse their experiences of, and reactions to, exclusion in the labour market. While for several interviewees the possibility of being met with ethnic prejudice from employers looms large, more experiences of this sort were reported among interviewees engaged in customer contact, where the inside of an organization intersects with the outside world.
Effect of Soil Variation on Quality of Shea Butter in Selected Areas of the Northern Region of Ghana

Soil variation and its effect on the physical and chemical properties of shea butter, a product from the nut of the shea tree, were investigated in four districts of the northern region of Ghana. Thirty-six samples of freshly extracted shea butter together with 36 soil samples were collected and stored at 25°C for analysis. Clinical analysis of soil properties and the clinical analysis of the physical and chemical properties of shea butter were investigated using standard methods. The results showed that the soil organic matter (1.78%), soil organic carbon (1.03%), soil nitrogen (0.10%) and sandy soil have significant positive impact on the fat content (48.69%) of the shea kernel, and the soil cation exchange capacity (6.61%) has a negative effect. Soil properties do not have an impact on the chemical properties of the shea butter. This study thus concludes that apart from other factors such as the method adopted for the extraction of shea butter, soil composition contributes significantly to the quantity of shea butter extracted from the shea kernels. Key words: Physical, chemical, soil quality, shea butter, fatty acids, vegetation, climate.
Il Mulino-Rivisteweb

More than anyone else, Magali Sarfatti Larson in 1977 established today’s received wisdom in the sociology of professions, in reaction against Talcott Parsons’ earlier functionalist approach. However, she acknowledges that she had failed to provide a theoretical alternative to Parsons’ functionalism. Today, Larson has substantially reevaluated her approach to professions, and indeed now accepts one of Parsons’ central arguments, namely that professions introduce important consequences into the larger social order. But from 1977 to today, she has still not developed consistently any identifiable theoretical approach to professions. One result of lacking any mooring at a conceptual level is that her descriptions and explanations of professionalism across her entire career suffer as a result, being at once ad hoc, unreliable and ultimately contradictory.
Hybrid Capture–Based Genomic Profiling of Circulating Tumor DNA from Patients with Advanced Cancers of the Gastrointestinal Tract or Anus

Purpose: Genomic profiling of tumor biopsies from advanced gastrointestinal and anal cancers is increasingly used to inform treatment. In some cases, tissue biopsy can be prohibitive, and we sought to investigate whether analysis of blood-derived circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) may provide a minimally invasive alternative. Experimental Design: Hybrid capture–based genomic profiling of 62 genes was performed on blood-based ctDNA from 417 patients with gastrointestinal carcinomas to assess the presence of genomic alterations (GA) and compare with matched tissue samples. Results: Evidence of ctDNA was detected in 344 of 417 samples (82%), and of these, ≥1 reportable GA was detected in 89% (306/344) of samples. Frequently altered genes were TP53 (72%), KRAS (35%), PIK3CA (14%), BRAF (8%), and EGFR (7%). In temporally matched ctDNA and tissue samples available from 25 patients, 86% of alterations detected in tissue were also detected in ctDNA, including 95% of short variants, but only 50% of amplifications. Conversely, 63% of alterations detected in ctDNA were also detected in matched tissue. Examples demonstrating clinical utility are presented. Conclusions: Genomic profiling of ctDNA detected potentially clinically relevant GAs in a significant subset of patients with gastrointestinal carcinomas. In these tumor types, most alterations detected in matched tissue were also detected in ctDNA, and with the exception of amplifications, ctDNA sequencing routinely detected additional alterations not found in matched tissue, consistent with tumor heterogeneity. These results suggest feasibility and utility of ctDNA testing in advanced gastrointestinal cancers as a complementary approach to tissue testing, and further investigation is warranted. Clin Cancer Res; 24(8); 1881–90. ©2018 AACR.
Optimal Use of Targeted Agents for Advanced Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumours

Imatinib is the recommended 1st-line treatment for a KIT-positive unresectable and/or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST). However, some patients experience intolerance to imatinib and most patients will eventually experience disease progression while on imatinib treatment. Sunitinib is approved for treatment of a GIST after disease progression on, or intolerance to, imatinib therapy. Progression may occur early or later on, in treatment and is determined by factors including initial GIST genotype and mutational status. GISTs with KIT exon 11 mutations appear to be sensitive to standard dose imatinib, and patients with GISTs exhibiting KIT exon 9 mutations whose disease has progressed on imatinib 400 mg/day have been shown to respond to imatinib 800 mg/day, albeit with a higher incidence of adverse events. Sunitinib has shown clinical benefit in all major GIST mutational subtypes, particularly in patients with wild-type or KIT exon 9 genotype and against GISTs with secondary KIT exon 13 or 14 mutations. The choice between higher-dose imatinib and sunitinib after progression on standard dose imatinib is unclear, and apart from the GIST primary resistance genotype and mutational status, individual patient factors such as tumour characteristics, drug pharmacokinetics, and other clinical factors may affect response to treatment. Individualisation of therapy may help to maximise clinical benefit of therapy in these patients.
Role of field-effect on c-Si surface passivation by ultrathin (2–20 nm) atomic layer deposited Al2O3

Al2O3 synthesized by plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition yields excellent surface passivation of crystalline silicon (c-Si) for films down to ∼5 nm in thickness. Optical second-harmonic generation was employed to distinguish between the influence of field-effect passivation and chemical passivation through the measurement of the electric field in the c-Si space-charge region. It is demonstrated that this electric field—and hence the negative fixed charge density—is virtually unaffected by the Al2O3 thickness between 2 and 20 nm indicating that a decrease in chemical passivation causes the reduced passivation performance for <5 nm thick Al2O3 films.
Influence of Crude Oil Price Shock on Economic Growth: Evidence from India

Fluctuation in oil price is criteria in the worldwide economy which is posing a great challenge to researchers and policy makers studying the stochastic nature of macro -economic dynamics. This research endeavour tries to analyze the influence of oil price change either domestic oil price or international oil price on economic growth in India for the period from February,1990 to March,2015.Result suggests that international crude oil price increase has significant negative impact on economic growth of India which is at par our expectation and crude domestic oil price increase has unexpectedly significant positive impact on economic growth of India which is contrary to our expectation. Our long run analysis suggests that variables in the series are cointegrated and exhibits a stable long-run equilibrium relationship. There exist unidirectional causality between growth in GDP(GDP) and international oil price (IOIL), growth in GDP(GDP) ,domestic oil price(DOIL). The causality runs from international oil price (IOIL) to growth in GDP, domestic oil price(DOIL)to growth in GDP respectively. This means that international oil price as well as domestic oil price granger causes economic growth but not vice versa so far as our study period and results are concerned. Keywords: Oil price, economic growth, India, causality, cointegration. JEL -C58, Q32, Q43, G00.
Reply to Shah et al.: Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia.

1. We used fluorescent dyes that utilize changes in the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) to enter and label the mitochondria (such as MitoTracker and rhodamine based dyes). (2) However, we did not measure MMP directly. We found that mitochondrial bioenergetic function was decreased (suggesting a lower MMP) while oxidant generation was increased (suggesting a higher MMP) in human venous umbilical endothelial cells (HUVEC) from premature infants who later died or developed bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), compared to those who survived without BPD. Therefore, we agree that it is important to obtain direct MMP measurements using dyes such as JC-1 (5, 5′, 6, 6′tetrachloro-1, 1′, 3, 3′-tetraethylbenzimidazolylcarbocyanine iodide) to determine MMP differences between these infant groups. (3)
Bayesian Model Comparison in Nonlinear BOLD fMRI Hemodynamics

Nonlinear hemodynamic models express the BOLD (blood oxygenation level dependent) signal as a nonlinear, parametric functional of the temporal sequence of local neural activity. Several models have been proposed for both the neural activity and the hemodynamics. We compare two such combined models: the original balloon model with a square-pulse neural model (Friston, Mechelli, Turner, & Price, 2000) and an extended balloon model with a more sophisticated neural model (Buxton, Uludag, Dubowitz, & Liu, 2004). We learn the parameters of both models using a Bayesian approach, where the distribution of the parameters conditioned on the data is estimated using Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques. Using a split-half resampling procedure (Strother, Anderson, & Hansen, 2002), we compare the generalization abilities of the models as well as their reproducibility, for both synthetic and real data, recorded from two different visual stimulation paradigms. The results show that the simple model is the better one for these data.
PREC : Practical Root Exploit Containment for Android Devices

HO, TSUNG-HSUAN. PREC: Practical Root Exploit Containment for Android Devices. (Under the direction of Dr. Xiaohui (Helen) Gu and Dr. William Enck. ) Application markets such as the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store have become the de facto method of distributing software to mobile devices. While the o cial markets dedicate significant resources to detecting malware, state-of-the-art malware detection can be easily circumvented using logic bombs or checks for an emulated environment. We present a Practical Root Exploit Containment (PREC) framework which protects users from this type of conditional malicious behavior. PREC can dynamically identify system calls from high-risk components (e.g., third-party native libraries) and execute those system calls within isolated threads. This allows PREC to detect and stop root exploits with high accuracy without interfering with benign applications. We have implemented PREC and evaluated our methodology using 140 of the most popular benign applications along with 10 root exploit malicious applications. Our results show that PREC can successfully detect and stop all the tested malware while reducing the false alarm rates by more than an order of magnitude over traditional malware detection algorithms. PREC is light-weight, which makes it practical for runtime on-device root exploit detection and containment. © Copyright 2013 by Tsung-Hsuan Ho
SKELETAL MUSCLE METABOLIC FLEXIBILITY IMPAIRMENTS IN RESPONSE TO LIPID WITH OBESITY : EFFECT OF EXERCISE TRAINING

Obese individuals exhibit skeletal muscle metabolic inflexibility by failing to increase fat oxidation and genes linked with mitochondrial biogenesis in response to a high-fat diet (HFD) and lipid incubation in cell culture. Exercise training can increase skeletal muscle fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and mitochondrial content in the skeletal muscle of the obese although whether it can normalize the response to excess lipid is unclear. The purpose of this dissertation was to determine whether metabolic flexibility in response to lipid could be rescued by short-term aerobic exercise training (study 1) and chemically uncoupling primary human skeletal muscle cells (HSkMC) to increase cell energy expenditure (study 2) in obese skeletal muscle. The hypotheses were that 1) obese individuals would exhibit skeletal muscle metabolic inflexibility in response to a 3d eucaloric high-fat diet (HFD; 70% total calories) in study 1 a defect that would persist in response to 24h lipid incubation in HSkMC (study 2); and 2) 10 consecutive days of aerobic exercise training (study 1) and mild uncoupling in vitro (study 2) would normalize the response to excess lipid in the skeletal muscle of obese individuals. Unlike the lean obese individuals did not increase skeletal muscle FAO in response to a 3d HFD while sedentary (study 1) and did not increase protein content of Complex I Complex III and COX IV in response to 24h lipid incubation in HSkMC (study 2) supporting our hypothesis of lipid-induced metabolic inflexibility in obese skeletal muscle. Exercise training combined with a HFD produced a similar increase in FAO and citrate synthase (CS) activity in lean and obese individuals (study 1) indicating that HFD-induce metabolic flexibility was restored with exercise training regardless of obesity status. Incubation with the chemical uncoupler FCCP and lipid exhibited a treatment effect for Complex I and Complex III although the latter appeared to be driven by the robust lean response and increased COX IV content in the lean only. Therefore lipid-induced metabolic inflexibility is persistent in cell culture and increasing energy expenditure in vitro does not fully restore the response to lipid in a manner similar to in vivo exercise training.
Complete mitochondrial genome of Schizothorax nukiangensis Tsao (Cyprinidae: Schizothorax)

Abstract In this work, we reported the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the Schizothorax nukiangensis Tsao for the first time. The complete mtDNA genome sequence of S. nukiangensis Tsao was 16 585 bp in length, which contains 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, an origin of light-strand replication (OL) and a control region (D-Loop). The overall base composition of the mitogenome was calculated to be 29.6% for A, 27.0% for C, 17.9% for G and 25.5% for T. The complete mitogenome of the S. nukiangensis Tsao can provide an important data set for further studies on population history, molecular systematics, phylogeography and stock assessment.
Using sediment diatom assemblages in the assessment of environmental changes in high-altitude lakes, Rila Mts, Bulgaria

Sediment cores were collected from nine high-altitude lakes located in three different cirques of the Rila Mts, Southwest Bulgaria, as a part of a broader Pan-European study of mountain lakes. Diatoms were analyzed from the top (present-day) and bottom (pre-industrial) sediment samples. A total of 213 diatom taxa were recorded. The total number of species found in the different cirques ranges between 115 and 183. Alkalinity, pH and conductivity were the main chemical characteristics which determined the distribution of diatom taxa in this data set of the studied lakes. In the group of lakes located in the Musalenski Cirque pH changes were detected over the last 150 years.
Expediting in Two-Echelon Spare Parts Inventory Systems

Problem definition: We consider dual sourcing in a distribution network for spare parts consisting of one central warehouse and multiple local warehouses. Each warehouse keeps multiple types of repairable parts to maintain several types of capital goods. The repair shop at the central warehouse has two repair options for each repairable part: a regular repair option and an expedited repair option. Irrespective of the repair option, each repairable part uses a certain resource for its repair. In the design of these inventory systems, companies need to decide on stocking levels and expedite thresholds such that total stock investments are minimized while satisfying asset availability and expediting constraints. Academic/practical relevance: Although most companies have the possibility to expedite the repair of parts in short supply, no contributions have been made that incorporate such dynamic expediting policies in repairable investment decisions. Anticipating expediting decisions that will be made later leads to substantial reductions in repairable investments. Methodology: We use queueing theory to determine the performance of the central warehouse and subsequently find the performance of all local warehouses using binomial disaggregation. For the optimization problem, we develop a greedy heuristic and a decomposition and column generation based algorithm. Results: Both solution approaches perform very well with average optimality gaps of 2.38 and 0.27%, respectively, across a large test bed of industrial size. The possibility to expedite the repair of failed parts is effective in reducing stock investments with average reductions of 7.94% and even reductions up to 19.61% relative to the state of the art. Managerial implications: Based on a case study at Netherlands Railways, we show how managers can significantly reduce the investment in repairable spare parts when dynamic repair policies are leveraged to prioritize repair of parts whose inventory is critically low.