Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Potential of Adiponectin in Driving Arthritis1

Articular adipose tissue is a ubiquitous component of human joints, but its local functions are largely unknown. Because recent studies revealed several links between adipose tissue, adipocytokines, and arthritis, we investigated the expression of the adipocytokine adiponectin and its functional role in articular adipose tissue and synovium of patients with different arthritides. In contrast to its protective role in endocrinological and vascular diseases, adiponectin was found to be involved in key pathways of inflammation and matrix degradation in the human joint. The effects of adiponectin in human synovial fibroblasts appear to be highly selective by inducing only two of the main mediators of rheumatoid arthritis pathophysiology, IL-6 and matrix metalloproteinase-1, via the p38 MAPK pathway. Owing to the observation that these effects could be inhibited by different TNF-α inhibitors, adipocytokines such as adiponectin may also be key targets for therapeutic strategies in inflammatory joint diseases. In summary, articular adipose tissue and adipocytokines cannot be regarded as innocent bystanders any more in chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis.
Measurement Equivalence Between Applicant and Incumbent Groups: An IRT Analysis of Personality Scales

Incumbents are often used in the development and validation of a wide variety of personnel selection instruments, including noncognitive instruments such as personality tests. However, the degree to which assumed motivational factors impact the measurement equivalence and validity of tests developed using incumbents has not been adequately addressed. This study addressed this issue by examining the measurement equivalence of 6 personality scales between a group applying for jobs as sales managers in a large retail organization (N = 999) and a group of sales managers currently employed in that organization (N = 796). A graded item response theory model (Samejima, 1969) was fit to the personality scales in each group. Results indicated that moderately large differences existed in personality scale scores (approximately 1/2 standard deviation units) but only one of the six scales contained any items that evidenced differential item functioning and no scales evidenced differential test functioning. In addition, person-level analyses showed no apparent differences across groups in aberrant responding. The results suggest that personality measures used for selection retain similar psychometric properties to those used in incumbent validation studies.
An Intentional Perspective to Service Modeling and Discovery

We argue that it is difficult for business people to fully benefit from the SOA if it remains at the software level. The paper proposes a move towards a description of services in business terms, i.e. goals and to organise their publication, search and composition on the basis of these descriptions. Thereafter, we propose a requirements engineering process to determine intentional services that meet business goals.
A proposal for limited implementation of a sunshade to evaluate the effects of albedo modification on global biogeochemical cycles

Climate change caused by anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases threatens to negatively impact human lifestyles across the globe through droughts, floods, and rising sea levels. In spite of these concerns, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted annually has continued to increase in the past decade, from 6.4 Gt of carbon every year in the 1990's to 7.2 Gt in the following decade (Bala, 2009). In addition, a recent study suggests that even if emissions were completely cut, it is too late to prevent temperature and sea level rises. In view of these predictions, more direct methods of maintaining the earth's present climate, such as geoengineering, are a possible solution. Geoengineering is any attempt to purposefully modify the environment on a large scale. However, it is likely that in modifying the earth's systems to solve one problem, geoengineering schemes would create a host of negative unintended consequences. These consequences, which might include pollution, precipitation changes, or declining productivity, have the potential to be more serious than the climate change caused by global warming. Therefore, it is important to thoroughly investigate the side effects of any scheme before implementation. In this paper, I propose to study the unintended effects of a geoengineering pitch authored by Roger Angel of the University of Arizona by partially implementing his plan. Angel (2006) proposes to send small disks into space between the earth and sun to deflect a fraction of the incoming solar radiation and thus cool the earth. To study the effects of this sunshade, I propose to install about 10% of the total number of disks. This limited implementation should affect Earth's climate no more than a volcanic eruption would; at that scale, scientists would be able to measure small changes in precipitation and net primary productivity and extrapolate their findings to predict the effects of a full-scale implementation. Even though geoengineering is an extreme option, it may become one day become the best way to negate the harmful climate changes caused by global warming. Experiments such 3 as the one I propose must take place before implementing a geoengineering plan, and thus the time to conduct these experiments is now, before the day of need.
NotiSense : An Urban Sensing Notification System To Improve Bystander Privacy

The growth in popularity of hand-held mobile devices has fuelled research exploring how to harness the collective abilities of sensors attached to these devices. One area of development has been urban sensing, which explores building a crowd-sourced wireless sensor network using consumer mobile devices. Urban sensing participants use their devices to capture information about their surroundings to contribute to an urban sensing system. Existing research has explored protecting the privacy of the urban sensing participants, through anonymization and aggregation of collected data. We are interested in the privacy of bystanders who may be inadvertently affected by nearby urban sensing data collection. There are difficult aspects to this problem, as we must weigh the privacy of bystanders against the privacy of urban sensing participants. We describe NotiSense, a simple system that provides useful notifications of nearby sensing activities to those who choose to subscribe. We evaluate a prototype implementation of NotiSense and its use of Wi-Fi to provide notifications. NotiSense is a good approach to enhancing the privacy of bystanders and opens up interesting challenges for future work.
Book Review. Stonewall’s Legacy: Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Students in Higher Education

Susan Marine’s Stonewall’s Legacy: Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Students in Higher Education, a monograph in the Higher Education Series published by the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), describes the struggles and progress of bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender (BGLT) students in higher education. Rooted in the historical context of the Stonewall riots for gay rights and with a focus on 4-year colleges and universities in the United States, the author examines how contemporary realities of BGLT students were shaped. She also discusses implications for the future of serving BGLT students. In the first section, “Who are BGLT College Students? A Historical Overview,” Marine describes marginalized gay and lesbian subcultures that existed mainly in urban areas before the late 1960s. The 1969 Stonewall riots facilitated collective movements of BGLT activists during a time when same-sex attraction slowly began to be viewed as less deviant. These social shifts connected to college campuses where BGLT student movements were surfacing despite unsupportive campus environments. BGLT student groups provided places of social connection and support as well as sites for visible activism, positively influencing campus-level and broader communities. The book’s second section, “Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Student Development Since Stonewall,” focuses on changing views of college student identity development over time, which includes a shift to viewing bisexual, gay, and lesbian (BGL) identities in a more positive light. She provides examples of Stonewall’s Legacy: Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Students in Higher Education
African‐Americans’ perceptions of requisite characteristics of business managers

Attempts to discover whether African Americans who aspire to managerial positions are the victims of racial discrimination. Seeks to provide insight into the perceptions of these candidates against a managerial profile. Provides the results of a survey of 231 African American students at a business school of a historically African‐American University in the southern USA. Concludes that some African‐Americans’ experiences are unique to this minority.
The Policies and Politics of Managed Migration: Exploring Mature Labour Migration from Central and Eastern Europe into the UK

Whilst studies have already focused on the inflow of labour migrants from Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries to the UK, most have centred on the experiences of younger migrants. Less attention has been paid to the motivations, experiences and policy impacts of ‘mature’ CEE labour migrants. This paper draws on a recent study in North-West England to highlight how structural factors and individual agency intersect in different ways for such groups. In particular, the analysis provides new insights into mature migrants' motivations, aspirations and expectations on decisions to come to or remain in the UK and how such issues inter-relate with new policies and politics of ‘managed migration’ and contemporary processes of welfare reform and labour-market participation.
Soziales Netzwerk, soziale Unterstützung und soziale Kompetenz bei Kindern

Zusammenfassung. Fragestellung: Es werden Zusammenhange zwischen sozialen Kompetenzen und dem sozialen Netzwerk bei Kindern sowie Effekte des Geschlechts, des Alters, der familiaren Situation und des Wohnorts untersucht. Methodik: Es wurden 60 Kinder im Alter zwischen sieben und 10 Jahren querschnittlich mit den Kompetenzskalen (Selbstsicherheit, Selbstbehauptung, Wertschatzung, Kontaktfahigkeit) des “Frankfurter Kinder-Selbstkonzept-Inventars“ (FKSI) und dem “Interview zum Sozialen Netzwerk und zur Sozialen Unterstutzung fur Kinder“ (SONET 4-K) untersucht. Ergebnisse: Die kindlichen Netzwerke bestehen im Schnitt aus 17 Personen, die grosteils der Familie, dem Freundeskreis und den Peers angehoren. 50% bis 60% sind Unterstutzer, nur wenige Beziehungen sind belastend. Geschlecht, Alter und Wohnort zeigen keinen Einfluss auf Netzwerk und Kompetenz. Die soziale Kompetenz steht primar mit den affektiven und belastenden Beziehungen und der Unterstutzung in Zusammenhang. Die bedeutsamsten Kompetenzvariablen sin.
Multispectral demosaicking algorithm based on inter-channel correlation

Conventional RGB image acquisition employs an image capturing system that utilizes color filter array (CFA) technology; however, it is limited in its ability to represent visible colors. Multispectral imaging based on filter array architecture is required for general image capturing because of its exquisite color representation system. However, it has several issues associated with spatial and spectral resolution. In this paper, we propose a new demosaicking method that improves reconstructed image quality by considering inter-channel correlation. Our proposed method strengthens the cross-correlation of demosaicked channels by repeating interpolations. Experimental results show that our proposed method generates better quality reconstructed images than conventional methods.
Lessons from Successful Schools in Disadvantaged Settings

MiE, Vol 20 issue 4 In the UK, and elsewhere in the world, schools with a higher level of pupil socio-economic disadvantage generally have lower levels of pupil attainment. (Teddlie, Stringfield and Reynolds 2000). However, some primary schools in Wales buck this trend (Welsh Assembly Government 2002). They have both high levels of disadvantage and high levels of attainment. We studied 18 of these schools to answer the questions: ‘what do they do? ’ ‘how they do it? ’ and ‘why does it work? In this article, we briefly describe the schools, pick out what we think are their special features and also explain why what they do works. We give a fuller account and explanation in ‘How Very Effective Primary Schools Work’ which is published by SAGE as part of the BELMAS Book Series.
Práticas de conciliação e satisfação no trabalho: mediação da facilitação do trabalho na família

The present study explored the effect that the availability of conciliatory work and family practices on the part of organizations, has on the job satisfaction experienced by the workers. Moreover, this study examined the role that work-family facilitation plays as a mediator in the relationship between these variables. The data was gathered from 342 subjects, 171 couples, married or cohabiting, who responded to a survey. The respondents were employed in a wide variety of occupations and organizations. The results demonstrated that work-to-family facilitation explains a significant amount of unique variance associated with job satisfaction, over and above the variance explained by the practice of conciliation. The results support the hypothesis that work-to-family facilitation mediates the relationship between the practices of conciliation and job satisfaction. In this way, the results underscore the important role that work-to-family facilitation plays in determining employees' reactions, in terms of job satisfaction, to the practice offered by organizations of reconciling the work and family domains, thereby offering an explanation of the mechanism through which these practices have a positive impact on employee satisfaction.
An Expected-E¢ cient Status Quo Allows E¢ cient Bargaining

In a general model of asymmetric-information bargaining with independent private values and quasilinear utilities, there exists an e¢ cient incentive-compatible and individually rational bargaining mechanism when the status-quo allocation is the expected e¢ cient allocation. The only assumption needed for this is that the total surplus is convex in the allocation (which holds as long as randomized allocations are allowed).
Feature Interactions Enable Decoding of Sensorimotor Transformations for Goal-Directed Movement

Neurophysiology and neuroimaging evidence shows that the brain represents multiple environmental and body-related features to compute transformations from sensory input to motor output. However, it is unclear how these features interact during goal-directed movement. To investigate this issue, we examined the representations of sensory and motor features of human hand movements within the left-hemisphere motor network. In a rapid event-related fMRI design, we measured cortical activity as participants performed right-handed movements at the wrist, with either of two postures and two amplitudes, to move a cursor to targets at different locations. Using a multivoxel analysis technique with rigorous generalization tests, we reliably distinguished representations of task-related features (primarily target location, movement direction, and posture) in multiple regions. In particular, we identified an interaction between target location and movement direction in the superior parietal lobule, which may underlie a transformation from the location of the target in space to a movement vector. In addition, we found an influence of posture on primary motor, premotor, and parietal regions. Together, these results reveal the complex interactions between different sensory and motor features that drive the computation of sensorimotor transformations.
The Economics of Multilingualism: Overview and Analytical Framework

The purpose of this paper is to introduce noneconomists to the economics of multilingualism. This area of research is relatively little known among economists, and until recent years, few of its methods and results had been published in the journals usually read by language specialists, although sociolinguists and applied linguists had for many years been pointing out the importance of economic dimensions in their research field. It is therefore useful to begin with a brief review of the literature which, owing to limitations of space, does not report specific results, but lists the major issues that have been examined to date. More extensive surveys are available in Vaillancourt (1985a) and Grin (1994c; 1996e).
Catapults and pendulums: the mechanics of language acquisition

Learners' overgeneralization of lexical rules has been a longstanding puzzle in language-acquisition research since it poses the problem of 'retreat'. How do learners, without the benefit of negative evidence . find out that a rule they have formulated is overly general; and once they do, how can they be sure to reformulate it correctly? The first problem is addressed by the catapult hypothesis, which proposes that each overgeneralization is resolved by a catapult: a combination of a principle If A then not B, and information A. The outcome, not B, tells learners that their assumption that B was part of the language is incorrect, leading them to tighten their early overgeneralizations. Catapults have the property that the principles they use are assumed to be a part of the grammar, independently required. This obviates the need for external counting mechanisms, or other grammar-external machinery often proposed in order to deal with this acquisitional puzzle. The second problem, how the learner manages to reformulate the generalization correctly, is also considered. Having overshot the correct generalization in one direction, the retreating learner can overshoot it in the other direction and retreat too far. To avoid a pendulum problem, perpetually swinging between competing over generalizations and never settling on a rule of the right size, we propose a domain condition. Like the principles used in catapults, the domain condition is part of the grammar: the domains into which the grammar is divided— lexicon, syntax, and so on — provide lines inside which generalizations may fall. Learners revise their grammars accordingly, and (as with the catapult) without additional learning machinery.
Vein, Silastic, and Polyglycolic Acid Fine Mesh: A Comparative Study in Peripheral Nerve Repair

We investigated three sheathing materials (autogenous vein, silastic, and polyglycolic acid fine mesh) using the rat model. Forty rats were divided into five groups of eight animals each. Group A animals underwent transection of the sciatic nerve but had no repair. In Group B, a standard epineural repair was performed. In Groups C, D, and E, the nerve was repaired as in Group B with the addition of autogenous vein, Silastic, and polyglycolic acid fine mesh sheaths, respectively. Nerve regeneration and function were assessed using sciatic functional index, nerve conduction studies, and light microscopy. Sheathing methods showed no statistically significant advantage to standard epineural repair without a sheath.
Neural Stem Cell Transplantation and Mechanisms for Functional Recovery

Neural stem cell transplantation has demonstrated its therapeutic potential in many neurological disorders. The long-thought prime mechanism of action was the replacement of cells lost to injury or neuro degeneration. Now, more and more evidence has provided insight into other bystander mechanisms through which these cell grafts could bring about a functional and structural restorative benefit. Their role in immunomodulation, neurogenesis and brain plasticity, as well as their capacity to secrete constitutively neuroprotective factors, open interesting doors to new frontiers in therapeutics that go beyond cell substitution. The purpose of this review is to outline the factors, both host and graft dependent shown to mediate these new mechanisms of therapeutic action posterior to NSCs introduction into a pathological host environment.
Multivalued quasi variational inequalities in Banach spaces.

It is established that the multivalued quasi variational inequalities in uniformly smooth Banach spaces are equivalent to the fixed-point problem. We use this equivalence to suggest and analyze some iterative algorithms for quasi variational inequalities with noncom- pact sets in Banach spaces. Our results are new and represent a significant improvement of the previously known results.
Reflective discourse about intellectual capital: research and practice

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of a critical research perspective in the development of research in the field of intellectual capital (IC) practice.Design/methodology/approach – The paper initiates a reflective discourse about the relevance of contemporary approaches to research and practice in the field of IC and explores the way forward with a view to improving the relevance of IC to academics, practitioners and their organisations.Findings – It is not the intention of this paper to prescribe specific formulae for the measurement, management and reporting of IC, nor further develop theory. It is the intention of the paper to lay the foundations for further discourse on the thinking behind contemporary IC theory and practice.Research limitations/implications – The limitation of the paper is that it represents the informed opinion of the author and these views may not be shared by other researchers and practitioners. The implications are first that it aligns IC to the current ge.
Viability of a compensatory working memory model of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

A working memory dysfunction has been posited as a possible endophenotype for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Indeed, recent data tend to corroborate this construct as perhaps a core factor in accounting for the tripartite symptomatology of ADHD (hyperactivity, inattentiveness and impulsivity). Working memory is one of the executive functions subserved by the prefrontal cortex. A challenging, yet to be solved, issue for the Working Memory Model of ADHD is that the typical onset of ADHD symptoms occurs prior to the central involvement of the anterior part of the brain in mediating behaviour. There are known prefrontal-subcortical brain circuits. The globus pallidus, a structure of the basal ganglia, is discussed with reference to having a working memory role in a subcortical-prefrontal network. We review neuroscience models of working memory together with multidisciplinary data leading to the hypothesis that subcortical malfunction in early childhood can result in storage of irrelevancies,.