Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization of the function of type XIII collagen in mice; specific roles during cardiovascular development and posnatally in bone modeling

Type XIII collagen is a type II transmembrane protein which is expressed in many tissues throughout development and adult life. It is located in focal adhesions of cultured cells and in the adhesive structures of tissues such as the myotendinous junctions in muscle, intercalated discs in the heart and the cell-basement membrane interphases. To further characterize the function of this protein, we generated transgenic mice overexpressing it in normal and mutant forms. A large in-frame deletion in the COL2 domain of type XIII collagen led to synthesis of truncated α1(XIII) chains in transgenic mice, disrupting the assembly of normal type XIII collagen trimers. Fibroblasts derived from the mutant mice expressed shortened α1(XIII) chains, and no intracellular accumulation of the mutant protein was detected, suggesting that the mutant molecules were expressed on the cell surface. Transgene expression led to an embryonally lethal phenotype in offspring from heterozygous mating at two distinct stages of development. The early phenotype fetuses died due to the lack of chorioallantoic fusion and functioning placenta at 10.5 dpc, while the death of the late phenotype fetuses was caused by cardiac and placental defects around 13.5 dpc. The phenotype resembles closely several other cell adhesion molecule mutants, indicating that type XIII collagen has an essential role in certain adhesive interactions that are necessary for normal development. Mice overexpressing type XIII collagen with or without a point mutation developed postnatally an unexpected skeletal phenotype marked by a massive increase in bone mass. The cortical bone cross-sectional area and volumetric bone mineral density were highly increased, but trabecular bone volume was not significantly altered. The bone formation rate was several times higher in the mutant mice than in their normal littermates, while the osteoclast number and resorption activity were normal. Type XIII collagen was expressed highly in primary osteoblasts derived from the transgenic mice. Overexpression of type XIII collagen in osteoblasts enhanced both cell proliferation and differentiation while lack of it had opposite effects. Furthermore, mutant cells responded to mechanical strain differently than wild-type cells. The findings suggest that type XIII collagen has an important role in bone modeling, and it may in particular have a function in coupling the regulation of bone mass to mechanical usage.
Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Benchmarking Human-Free Lifting Solutions in the Offshore Wind Energy Environment

With single components weighing up to hundreds of tonnes and lifted to heights of approximately 100 m, offshore wind turbines can pose risks to personnel, assets, and the environment during installation and maintenance interventions. Guidelines and standards for health and safety in lifting operations exist; however, having people directly beneath the load is still common practice in offshore wind turbine installations. Concepts for human-free offshore lifting operations in the categories of guidance and control, connections, and assembly are studied in this work. This paper documents the process of applying Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), using experts’ opinions for the importance of defined criteria obtained by conducting an industry survey, to benchmark the suitability of the concepts at two stages. Stage one streamlined possible options and stage two ranked the remaining suite of options after further development. The survey results showed that criteria such as ‘reduction of risk’, ‘handling improvement’ and ‘reliability of operation’ were most important. The most viable options, weighted by industry opinion, to remove personnel from areas of high risk are: Boom Lock and tag lines, a camera system with mechanical guidance, and automated bolt installation/fastening for seafastening. The decision analysis framework developed can be applied to similar problems to inform choices subject to multiple criteria.
Over the (range) edge: a 45‐year transplant experiment with the perennial forest herb Hyacinthoides non‐scripta

1 Most experimental populations of perennial forest herbs have been monitored for only a few years and thus only apply to germination and early seedling survival. Moreover, there is a lack of long‐term, quantitative data on the rates of spread of populations. 2 We report the results of a cross‐range‐edge transplant experiment established in 1960 with the perennial forest herb Hyacinthoides non‐scripta. We evaluated determinants of survival/extinction, performance and migration distances and patterns of 27 transplanted populations after a period of 45 growing seasons. 3 Of 27 experimental populations of Hyacinthoides non‐scripta implanted in 1960, 11 (41%) were still found in 2005–06. Population survival was independent of soil type and changes in the vegetation layer. In contrast, physical disturbance of the soil and major changes in the tree layer as a result of forest management were the main determinants of population extinction. Current population surface areas ranged from 0.23 to 26.23 m2. Plant height, leaf length, number of flowers and seed size were generally lower in the introduced populations than in the source populations. However, densities and proportions of non‐flowering adults were higher, especially in the larger populations. This suggests that these populations are still expanding with more but younger, and thus smaller, individuals. 4 Observed migration rates were very low, ranging from 0.006 my−1 to 0.06 my−1. Migration occurred by the establishment of isolated individuals, which were later absorbed by the advancing wave of the main population. The spread projected for the largest population in the next 45 years is only 14 m for the main population front and 42 m for the furthest individual. 5 Our results may be representative of population spread for slow dispersing forest plant species after occasional long‐distance dispersal events across a range edge. However, the slow rates of spread indicate that, even if such events occur, it can take a very long time to establish viable population sizes.
Adaptive Information Presentation for Spoken Dialogue Systems: Evaluation with real users

We present evaluation results with human subjects for a novel data-driven approach to Natural Language Generation in spoken dialogue systems. We evaluate a trained Information Presentation (IP) strategy in a deployed tourist-information spoken dialogue system. The IP problem is formulated as statistical decision making under uncertainty using Reinforcement Learning, where both content planning and attribute selection are jointly optimised based on data collected in a Wizard-of-Oz study. After earlier work testing and training this model in simulation, we now present results from an extensive online user study, involving 131 users and more than 800 test dialogues, which explores its contribution to overall 'global' task success. We find that the trained Information Presentation strategy significantly improves dialogue task completion, with up to a 9.7% increase (30% relative) compared to the deployed dialogue system which uses conventional, hand-coded presentation prompts. We also present subjective evaluation results and discuss the implications of these results for future work in dialogue management and NLG.
Schools as Moderators of Genetic Associations with Life Course Attainments: Evidence from the WLS and Add Health

Genetic variants identified in genome-wide association studies of educational attainment have been linked with a range of positive life course development outcomes. However, it remains unclear whether school environments may moderate these genetic associations. We analyze data from two biosocial surveys that contain both genetic data and follow students from secondary school through mid- to late life. We test if the magnitudes of the associations with educational and occupational attainments varied across the secondary schools that participants attended or with characteristics of those schools. Although we find little evidence that genetic associations with educational and occupational attainment varied across schools or with school characteristics, genetic associations with any postsecondary education and college completion were moderated by school-level socioeconomic status. Along similar lines, we observe substantial between-school variation in the average level of educational attainment students achieved for a fixed genotype. These findings emphasize the importance of social context in the interpretation of genetic associations. Specifically, our results suggest that though existing measures of individual genetic endowment have a linear relationship with years of schooling that is relatively consistent across school environments, school context is crucial in connecting an individual’s genotype to his or her likelihood of crossing meaningful educational thresholds.
The effects of emotional intelligence in everyday life : what counselors can do to reinforce E.I. in couples counselings

This paper will explore the aspects that make up emotional intelligence, compare IQ to EQ, and explain how emotional intelligence plays a role in the schools and in the workplace. This paper will identify how counselors can guide and support couples to recognize their feelings and develop healthy relationships with their spouses. Although techniques involving emotional intelligence skills are important for clients in individual sessions, there has been further research done with couples regarding therapy work and EI (Goleman, 1995). Therefore, this paper will focus on "emotional intelligence in couples" counselors, but will touch on EI in the schools and workplace as well. Counselors must be aware of how EI components act as a helping concept when building relationships with others and managing oneself. This open access graduate research paper is available at UNI ScholarWorks: https://scholarworks.uni. edu/grp/343 THE EFFECTS OF EMOITONAL INTELLIGENCE IN EVERYDAY LIFE: WHAT COUNSELORS AND OTHER PROFESSIONALS CAN DO TO REINFOROCE EI A Research Paper Presented to The Department of Educational Leadership, Counseling And Postsecondary Education University of Northern Iowa In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Art in Mental Health Counseling By Bridget M. Beneke May 2006 \ This research paper by: Bridget M. Beneke Entitled: THE EFFECTS OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGNCE IN EVERYDAY LIFE: WHAT COUNSELORS CAN DO TO REINFORICRE EI IN COUPLES COUNSELINGS Has been approved as meeting the research paper requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling.
Life tables of disability beneficiaries by morbidity cause. Brazil, 1999-2002

The main goal of this paper is to estimate a Disability Beneficiaries Life Table from the General Social Security Regime for Private Sector Workers (rgps) by sex, age and disability cause in Brazil using multiple-decrement models. We used administrative records from Technological Enterprises and Social Security Information (dataprev 1999- 2002), and the information of social beneficiaries given by National Records of Social Information (cnis 1999-2002). The results show that –in contradiction with the disability life tables used in the private sector– the male disability retirement hazard increases steadily until age 65 and decreases afterwards. However, for females, these risks increase continuously up to the oldest age. More sex differentials show that, among women, the risk of disability retirement is larger due to circulatory diseases, musculoskeletal diseases and neoplasms. Among males, mental disorders are the most responsible for an overweight in the number of pensioners, especially among the young and adult age groups. This paper contributes to a better understanding of work and disability, especially in the field of social security and retirement.
Creative Interpretation in Web Design Experience

Abstract Insight into how people mentally represent, and thus, make sense of visual designs is the key to understanding how people interact with technological devices. This paper presents a study in which participants were asked to write their interpretations of two webpage design examples, based on what they thought they would say and what would remain as a thought. The data comprised 80 3E templates (N = 40), a template allowing participants to express experiences through writing and drawing. Inductive data analysis through a phenomenological lens revealed that supposed mental and verbal representations concentrated on the following design properties: colors, themes, interface layout and quality, which are further reflected in terms of visual usability, aesthetic evaluations, emotions and physical feelings. Representations of themes functioned as the unifying components of the visual experience. Involvement through curiosity and strategic operationalisation of ambiguity are identified as direct design implications of the study.
Parameter Optimization, Uncertainty Estimation and Sensitivity Analysis in Hydrological Modeling

This paper describes the application of Monte-Carlo simulations for parameter optimization, uncertainty estimation and sensitivity analysis using hydrological model developed by author [8] for Wardha River basin, Maharashtra, India. The Monte Carlo simulations revealed that the average values of parameters for the local optima of the calibration period seem to give good fit to the data and performance measure (NSE) does not differ significantly from the local optima of the respective calibration years. It is interesting to notice that, if the Monte Carlo simulations are carried out all over again, it generate yet another set of random numbers as realizations of model parameters. However the model objective function (NSE) differs mere by 0.1% by running the new set of realizations and the local optimum parameter values are close to the earlier local optima. It seems that the model structure is in agreement with the ‘‘equifinality’’ or ‘‘non-uniqueness’’ concept as many different parameter sets give good fit to the data. However particular area of the parameter space is observed to be dominant in fitting the available observations, this is in contradiction to Beven’s theory behind rejecting the idea of optimum parameter set.
1 Does Schooling Influence Productivity ? The Case of Ethiopian Manufacturing Enterprises 1

An empirical investigation was conducted to verify whether schooling influences productivity in the Ethiopian Public Manufacturing Industries. The results indicate that schooling influences the productivity of manufacturing enterprises significantly; viz, the higher the proportion of the labour force with a high level of schooling in an enterprise, the higher is productivity. This implies that increasing the proportion of social wealth expended on education is paying and that the education system in Ethiopia seems effective in translating skilled manpower into services. This, in turn, implies that not only broadening schooling in terms of quantity, but also deepening schooling by fostering quality could increase the productivity of manufacturing enterprises. Thus, government has to intervene in supplying skilled manpower since there is a serious risk of private under-investment in training at a firm level. However, for successful industrialisation to take place, any government move to supply these resources should involve the beneficiaries in order to balance demand and supply; give emphasis to tertiary education as strongly as basic education; and synchronise with other supportive schemes since human capital investment on its own cannot lead to the industrialisation of a country. 1 The final version of this article was submitted in October 2005. 2Senior Macroeconomic Advisor, USAID Ethiopia Admit Zerihun: Does Schooling Influence Productivity? 2
A Direct Approach to Conformational Dynamics Based on Hybrid Monte Carlo

Recently, a novel concept for the computation ofessentialfeatures of the dynamics of Hamiltonian systems (such as molecular dynamics) has been proposed. The realization of this concept had been based on subdivision techniques applied to the Frobenius? Perron operator for the dynamical system. The present paper suggests an alternative but related concept that merges the conceptual advantages of the dynamical systems approach with the appropriate statistical physics framework. This approach allows us to define the phrase “conformation” in terms of the dynamical behavior of the molecular system and to characterize the dynamical stability of conformations. In a first step, the frequency of conformational changes is characterized in statistical terms leading to the definition of some Markov operatorTthat describes the corresponding transition probabilities within the canonical ensemble. In a second step, a discretization ofTvia specific hybrid Monte Carlo techniques is shown to lead to astochasticmatrixP. With these theoretical preparaions, an identification algorithm for conformations (to be presented in a later paper) is applicable. It is demonstrated that the discretization ofTcan be restricted to few essential degrees of freedom so that the combinatorial explosion of discretization boxes is prevented and biomolecular systems can be attacked. Numerical results for the n-pentane molecule and the triribonucleotide adenylyl(3? 5? )cytidylyl(3? 5? )cytidin are given and interpreted.
ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES OF THE NODE-BASED SMOOTHED FINITE ELEMENT METHOD (NS-FEM) FOR SOLID MECHANICS PROBLEMS

A node-based smoothed finite element method (NS-FEM) for solving solid mechanics problems using a mesh of general polygonal elements was recently proposed. In the NS-FEM, the system stiffness matrix is computed using the smoothed strains over the smoothing domains associated with nodes of element mesh, and a number of important properties have been found, such as the upper bound property and free from the volumetric locking. The examination was performed only for two-dimensional (2D) problems. In this paper, we (1) extend the NS-FEM to three-dimensional (3D) problems using tetrahedral elements (NS-FEM-T4), (2) reconfirm the upper bound and free from the volumetric locking properties for 3D problems, and (3) explore further other properties of NS-FEM for both 2D and 3D problems. In addition, our examinations will be thorough and performed fully using the error norms in both energy and displacement. The results in this work revealed that NS-FEM possesses two additional interesting properties that quite simi.
One more reason to learn a new language: Testing academic self-efficacy transfer at junior high school

The powerful role of self-efficacy within human development broadly, and in education specifically, is widely acknowledged. Less is understood about how self-efficacy might transfer between domains of varying conceptual distance. The current study examines academic self-efficacy in three domains (mathematics, Japanese and foreign language) across students’ first year at junior high school. Two studies were conducted each including three school (study-A: n=480; study-B: n=398) to support a test and retest of the differences and inter-relationships across this critical period of adjustment. Difference testing presented a general pattern of significant small declines in students’ self-efficacy for all three subjects. Longitudinal latent analyses indicated a consistent moderate effect from foreign language self-efficacy to native language self-efficacy. The pattern of declines, while consistent with research in Western contexts is a source of concern. The transfer of self-efficacy from foreign to native language learning has educational and broad theoretical implications.
HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE ASSESSMENT USING ST. GEORGE’S RESPIRATORY QUESTIONNAIRE IN CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE PATIENTS ON COMBINED INHALED CORTICOSTEROIDS AND BRONCHODILATORS

Objective: Chronic diseases like COPD have significant effects on patient’s health-related quality of life (HRQoL). HRQoL measures additional indices as compared to objective measurements like spirometry. Our aim is to assess and compare the disease-specific quality of life in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease patients using St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ-C) receiving Salmeterol/Fluticasone (SF), Formoterol/Budesonide (FB), Formoterol/Fluticasone (FF). Methods: A prospective, open-label, randomized, parallel group study conducted at a tertiary care teaching hospital in South India. A 6-months follow-up of 90 patients with severe and very severe COPD randomized to receive Salmeterol/Fluticasone, Formoterol/Budesonide, and Formoterol/Fluticasone in appropriate doses according to their global initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease (GOLD) severity. After spirometry, St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ-C) was administered at baseline and after 180 d to assess improvement in lung function and HRQoL. Statistical analysis used: Data analyzed using SPSS version: 13.0. General linear repeated measures using the post-hoc Bonferroni method assessed significance between treatment groups. Results: Significant decrease ( P< 0.05) in each SGRQ-C domains and total scores as well as improvement in FEV1 ( P< 0.05) was observed in all study subjects. The mean SGRQ-C total score for the group I subjects (SF) at the initial visit was 86.69 and the scores reduced to 58.78 at final visit (i.e. after using SF for 6 mo). This reduction was highly significant statistically (t=10.989, p=0.000) at 95% CI. The mean SGRQ-C total scores for group II subjects (FB) at initial visit were 85.85 and the scores reduced to 67.98 at the final visit. This reduction was highly significant statistically (t=9.669, p=0.000) at 95% CI. The mean SGRQ-C total scores for group III subjects (FF) at initial visit were 83.96 and the scores reduced to 70.37 at final visit (after 6 mo). This reduction was highly significant statistically (t=12.285, p=0.000) at 95% CI. Conclusion: Maximum improvement in HRQoL ( P< 0.05) was noted in patients receiving Salmeterol/Fluticasone with respect to SGRQ-C (activity, impact and total) scores and FEV 1 . This improvement with SF was due to its greater effect in patients with severe and very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. There was a significant improvement in QoL with SF as compared to FB and FF in severe and very severe COPD patients. Subsequently, the three combined inhaled corticosteroids and bronchodilators showed similar improvements in lung functions and Health related quality of life throughout the study.