Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Medium Specificity Re-visited

Medium specificity arguments have had a long history in film theory. Forged primarily in studies seeking to locate the differences between cinema and theatre,1 or cinema and literature,2 such arguments have a much earlier history in the idea that art forms can be differentiated from one another on the basis of their means of imitation. Medium specificity theories generally concern themselves with the idea that different media have 'essential' and unique characteristics that form the basis of how they can and should be used. Within Film Studies, interest in both the idea of a 'cinematic apparatus' and the formative period of early cinema can be viewed as reactions emerging from a long period of engagement with medium specificity theories. Curiously, while it is common practice to use cinema as an analogy for multimedia, 3 there is little direct discussion of the relevance, or irrelevance, of medium specificity arguments in the broader space of 'new media' theory. 4 Our intent in this article is not to revive medium specificity arguments as these have already been problematised, but rather to establish them as a concern for new media theory, and also to extract from them a concept of specificity that can account for the different characteristics of established and emergent media.
Compliance with a self-care manual in guided self-change for bulimia nervosa

Objective: To investigate the effect of compliance and its predictors on outcome. Method: Sixty-two patients with DSM-III-R bulimia nervosa (BN) were randomly assigned to a self-care manual plus eight fortnightly sessions of guided self-change or 16 sessions of weekly cognitive behavioral therapy. Results: At the end of treatment, the group of high compliers had not achieved higher abstinence rates than low compliers regarding BN symptoms. At follow-up on average 43 weeks (SD = 26 weeks) after the end of therapy, those who had completed more exercises were more likely than low compliers to be abstinent from bingeing and vomiting. Those with a high frequency of vomiting at the beginning of therapy were less likely to use the manual while those with a longer duration of illness and higher levels of restraint were more likely to use the manual. Discussion: Exercises seem to be particularly important. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.
Ahıska Refugee Families’ Configuration of Resettlement and Academic Success in U.S. Schools

In this article, we report on an ethnographic study of figured worlds of resettlement and identities that Muslim refugee youth from the Russian Federation coconstructed in an urban school at the Southwestern U.S. border. In the school, multiple cultural-historical discourses came together within a glocal context: refugee families, a global Islamic movement, and deficit-oriented educational ideologies. Three empirically derived themes emerged: Glocal adaptation, multiple literacies, and sticking together. The overall impact of this study derives from two aspects of the analysis: The cultural-historical analysis of refugee resettlement and the hybrid identities of refugee students.
Modeling Genetical Data with Forests of Latent Trees for Applications in Association Genetics at a Large Scale - Which Clustering Method should Be Chosen?

Association genetics, and in particular genome-wide association studies (GWASs), aim at elucidating the etiology of complex genetic diseases. In the domain of association genetics, machine learning provides an appealing alternative framework to standard statistical approaches. Pioneering works (Mourad et al., 2011) have proposed the forest of latent trees (FLTM) to model genetical data at the genome scale. The FLTM is a hierarchical Bayesian network with latent variables. A key to FLTM construction is the recursive clustering of variables, in a bottom up subsuming process. In this paper, we study the impact of the choice of the clustering method to be plugged in the FLTM learning algorithm, in a GWAS context. Using a real GWAS data set describing 41400 variables for each of 3004 controls and 2005 individuals affected by Crohn's disease, we compare the influence of three clustering methods. Data dimension reduction and ability to split or group putative causal SNPs in agreement with the underlying biological reality are analyzed. To assess the risk of missing significant association results through subsumption, we also compare the methods through the corresponding FLTM-driven GWASs. In the GWAS context and in this framework, the choice of the clustering method does not impact the satisfying performance of the downstream application, both in power and detection of false positive associations.
G9a and HP1 Couple Histone and DNA Methylation to TNFα Transcription Silencing during Endotoxin Tolerance*

TNFα gene expression is silenced in the endotoxin tolerant phenotype that develops in blood leukocytes after the initial activation phase of severe systemic inflammation or sepsis. The silencing phase can be mimicked in vitro by LPS stimulation. We reported that the TNFα transcription is disrupted in endotoxin tolerant THP-1 human promonocyte due to changes in transcription factor binding and enrichment with histone H3 dimethylated on lysine 9 (H3K9). Here we show that the TNFα promoter is hypermethylated during endotoxin tolerance and that H3K9 methylation and DNA methylation interact to silence TNFα expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and RNA interference analysis demonstrated that, in tolerant cells, TNFα promoter is bound by the H3K9 histone methyltransferase G9a which dimethylates H3K9 and creates a platform for HP1 binding, leading to the recruitment of the DNA methyltransferase Dnmt3a/b and an increase in promoter CpG methylation. Knockdown of HP1 resulted in a decreased Dnmt3a/b binding, sustained G9a binding, and a modest increase in TNFα transcription, but had no effect on H3K9 dimethylation. In contrast, G9a knockdown-disrupted promoter silencing and restored TNFα transcription in tolerant cells. This correlated with a near loss of H3K9 dimethylation, a significant decrease in HP1 and Dnmt3a/b binding and promoter CpG methylation. Our results demonstrate a central role for G9a in this process and suggest that histone methylation and DNA methylation cooperatively interact via HP1 to silence TNFα expression during endotoxin tolerance and may have implication for proinflammatory gene silencing associated with severe systemic inflammation.
Lazy computation with exact real numbers

We provide a semantical framework for exact real arithmetic using linear fractional transformations on the extended real line. We present an extension of PCF with a real type which introduces an eventually breadth-first strategy for lazy evaluation of exact real numbers. In this language, we present the constant redundant if, rif, for defining functions by cases which, in contrast to parallel if (pif), overcomes the problem of undecidability of comparison of real numbers in finite time. We use the upper space of the one-point compactification of the real line to develop a denotational semantics for the lazy evaluation of real programs. Finally two adequacy results are proved, one for programs containing rif and one for those not containing it. Our adequacy results in particular provide the proof of correctness of algorithms for computation of single-valued elementary functions.
Nasopharyngeal Mucormycotic Osteitis: A New Syndrome Characterized by Initial Presentation of Multiple Cranial Nerve Palsies

Rhinocerebral mucormycosis, a highly lethal fungal infection of the head and neck, is commonly recognized by its classic appearance. Two cases of this newly recognized clinical syndrome with isolated unilateral peripheral cranial nerve V, VI, VII, IX, X, XI, and XII palsies and initial sparing of the eighth cranial nerve are presented. Examination revealed that each patient had ulceration of the nasopharynx and osteitis of the base of the skull. Nose, orbits, paranasal sinuses, and intracranial nervous systems were initially spared. The cause of this obscure cranial nerve paralysis was diagnosed from biopsy specimens of the nasopharyngeal tissues and the demonstration of nonseptate hyphae. Review of the literature did not indicate that this syndrome had previously been recognized. The name nasopharyngeal mucormycotic osteitis is suggested.
Connectivity and aggregation in multihop wireless networks

We present randomized distributed algorithms for connectivity and aggregation in multi-hop wireless networks under the SINR model. The connectivity problem asks for a set of links that strongly connect a given set of wireless nodes, along with an efficient schedule. Aggregation asks for a spanning in-arborescence (converge-cast tree), along with a schedule that additionally obeys the partial order defined by the tree. Here we treat the multi-hop case, where nodes have limited power that restricts the links they can potentially form. We show that connectivity is possible for any set of n nodes in O(\log n) slots, which matches the best centralized bound known, and that aggregation is possible in O(D + log n) time (D being the maximum hop-distance), which is optimal.
Summary Australian and New Zealand Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Schizophrenia 2003

Objective: To provide a summary of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Schizophrenia. Conclusions: Schizophrenia is a complex and misunderstood illness with a poor public image, but it is more treatable than ever before. A new generation of medication and psychosocial therapies, combined with a first generation of service reform, have created an evidence-based climate of realistic optimism. However, the potential for better outcomes and quality of life for people with schizophrenia has not been translated into reality. The gap between efficacy and effectiveness is wider for schizophrenia than for any other serious medical disorder. These guidelines distil the current evidence and make recommendations based on the best available knowledge. They are based on systematic meta-analyses and comprehensive reviews of the evidence, and their validity is supported by their congruence with several recent rigorous and independent guideline statements from the UK and North America.
Dynamic Structure Formation of Peripheral Membrane Proteins

Using coarse-grained membrane simulations we show here that peripheral membrane proteins can form a multitude of higher-order structures due to membrane-mediated interactions. Peripheral membrane proteins characteristically perturb the lipid bilayer in their vicinity which supports the formation of protein assemblies not only within the same but surprisingly also across opposing leaflets of a bilayer. In addition, we also observed the formation of lipid-protein domains on heteregeneous membranes. The clustering ability of proteins, as quantified via the potential of mean force, is enhanced when radius and hydrophobic penetration depth of the proteins increases. Based on our data, we propose that membrane-mediated cluster formation of peripheral proteins supports protein assembly in vivo and hence may play a pivotal role in the formation of templates for signaling cascades and in the emergence of transport intermediates in the secretory pathway.
A New Method for Choosing Sample Size for Confidence Interval–Based Inferences

Summary. Scientists often need to test hypotheses and construct corresponding confidence intervals. In designing a study to test a particular null hypothesis, traditional methods lead to a sample size large enough to provide sufficient statistical power. In contrast, traditional methods based on constructing a confidence interval lead to a sample size likely to control the width of the interval. With either approach, a sample size so large as to waste resources or introduce ethical concerns is undesirable. This work was motivated by the concern that existing sample size methods often make it difficult for scientists to achieve their actual goals. We focus on situations which involve a fixed, unknown scalar parameter representing the true state of nature. The width of the confidence interval is defined as the difference between the (random) upper and lower bounds. An event width is said to occur if the observed confidence interval width is less than a fixed constant chosen a priori. An event validity is said to occur if the parameter of interest is contained between the observed upper and lower confidence interval bounds. An event rejection is said to occur if the confidence interval excludes the null value of the parameter. In our opinion, scientists often implicitly seek to have all three occur: width, validity, and rejection. New results illustrate that neglecting rejection or width (and less so validity) often provides a sample size with a low probability of the simultaneous occurrence of all three events. We recommend considering all three events simultaneously when choosing a criterion for determining a sample size. We provide new theoretical results for any scalar (mean) parameter in a general linear model with Gaussian errors and fixed predictors. Convenient computational forms are included, as well as numerical examples to illustrate our methods.
Performance Evaluation of Cross-Polarized Antenna Selection over 2 GHz Measurement-Based Channel Models

In a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system, cross-polarized antenna selection yields significant reduction in cost and hardware size. However, actual benefits of the technique are dependent on the propagation characteristics including channel polarization. To accurately characterize the target 2 GHz-band MIMO channels, the authors conduct 2 GHz cross-polarized channel measurement campaigns. Based on the measured data, novel channel models specifically for the 2 GHz bands are established. In addition, we evaluate the performance improvement obtained with cross-polarized antenna selection using the channel models. Simulation results reveal that antenna selection is particularly useful in the low SNR regime, and that the system capacity at cell edges can be increased up to 13%.
Teaching and research: Student perspectives and policy implications

ABSTRACT Previous research on the vital but vexed relationship between teaching and research is reviewed and criticised for an overemphasis on correlational studies and for largely neglecting student perspectives on staff research. We present a research study on this issue using focus groups of undergraduate students from a range of disciplines in one institution. Students perceived clear benefits from staff research, including staff enthusiasm and the credibility of staff and their institution. Students did perceive disadvantages from staff involvement in research, particularly staff availability to students—while a central conclusion was that students did not perceive themselves as stakeholders in staff research. We conclude that many of these perceived disadvantages could be resolved by the effective management of research by individuals, departments, institutions and funding bodies. We conclude with a range of policy suggestions as to how staff research could be better managed to the advantage of stud.
Expansion of a CD8+PD-1+ Replicative Senescence Phenotype in Early Stage CLL Patients Is Associated with Inverted CD4:CD8 Ratios and Disease Progression

Purpose: Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) display immune deficiency that is most obvious in advanced stage disease. Here we investigated whether this immune dysfunction plays a pathologic role in the progression of early stage disease patients. Experimental Design: We carried out eight-color immunophenotyping analysis in a cohort of 110 untreated early stage CLL patients and 22 age-matched healthy donors and correlated our findings with clinical outcome data. Results: We found a significant reduction in naive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in CLL patients. Only the CD4+ subset showed significantly increased effector memory cells (TEM and TEMRA) in the whole cohort (P = 0.004 and P = 0.04, respectively). However, patients with inverted CD4:CD8 ratios (52 of 110) showed preferential expansion of the CD8 compartment, with a skewing of CD8+ TEMRA (P = 0.03) coupled with increased percentage of CD57+CD28−CD27− T cells (P = 0.008) and PD-1 positivity (P = 0.027), consistent with a replicative senescence phenotype. Furthermore, inverted CD4:CD8 ratios were associated with shorter lymphocyte doubling time (P = 0.03), shorter time to first treatment (P = 0.03), and reduced progression-free survival (P = 0.005). Conclusions: Our data show that the emergence of CD8+PD-1+ replicative senescence phenotype in early stage CLL patients is associated with more aggressive clinical disease. Importantly, these findings were independent of tumor cell prognostic markers and could not be accounted for by patient age, changes in regulatory T-cell frequency, or cytomegalovirus serostatus. Clin Cancer Res; 18(3); 678–87. ©2011 AACR.
Performance of Kepler GTX Titan GPUs and Xeon Phi System

NVIDIA's new architecture, Kepler improves GPU's performance significantly with the new streaming multiprocessor SMX. Along with the performance, NVIDIA has also introduced many new technologies such as direct parallelism, hyper-Q and GPU Direct with RDMA. Apart from other usual GPUs, NVIDIA also released another Kepler 'GeForce' GPU named GTX Titan. GeForce GTX Titan is not only good for gaming but also good for high performance computing with CUDA. Nevertheless, it is remarkably cheaper than Kepler Tesla GPUs. We investigate the performance of GTX Titan and find out how to optimize a CUDA code appropriately for it. Meanwhile, Intel has launched its new many integrated core (MIC) system, Xeon Phi. A Xeon Phi coprocessor could provide similar performance with NVIDIA Kepler GPUs theoretically but, in reality, it turns out that its performance is significantly inferior to GTX Titan.
The Importance of Telling a Good Story: An Experiment in Public Criminology

This article explores the potential role for criminologists in contributing to the public debate on crime and criminal justice. Do reasoned academic contributions based on objective evaluation of relevant empirical evidence and ‘facts’ about crime and criminal justice have the potential to influence the public sphere dominated by competing communication strategies, media, and political discourses on crime? The author reflects on findings from research on a subject which can be broadly described as an experiment in public criminology. The author's research found that factual information on crime and criminal justice presented through a mainstream media outlet was largely ignored and did not have the expected and desired effect on members of the public.
Taking turns and taking sides : Opening scenes from two jury deliberations

This study concerns the organization of the turn taking in the opening rounds of two actual deliberations, one civil and one criminal. Like all interactants, jurors accomplish their tasks through sequential and collaborative ordering of their activities, including determination of who can, and who will, assume speakership. The organization of turn taking is important because through this organization jurors discursively accomplish what they must. Analysis of transcript and videotapes of the deliberations demonstrates that in the opening round, during which jurors state their preliminary views on the case at hand, participants adopt a pattern of turn taking different from that in ordinary conversation; it more closely resembles turn taking during provision of what Boden has labeled position statements in meetings in formal organizations. Although a jury is a unique kind of meeting because of jurors' mutual lack of acquaintance and the centrality of their decision as a goal for its own sake, past work on meetings provides a conceptual and analytic anchor for this study. Empirical analysis centers on minute inspection of those opening rounds to describe their subtly distinct organizations, and also to address how the organization of turn taking and the shape of the turns themselves are consequential for the formation of sides in each jury, for each foreperson's degree of authority, and for the jurors' larger institutional task.
The silent treatment of class domination: ‘Critical’ comparative capitalisms scholarship and the British state

This article is a meta-critique, from an Althusserian and Poulantzasian perspective, of critical accounts of the British state. It is based on a ‘symptomatic reading’ of key texts written by Andrew Gamble, Colin Hay and Chris Howell, which demonstrates that they misconstrue the dynamics of capitalism and the effects of state interventions and class conflict. Against this backdrop, the article outlines an approach to state analysis based on the concept of ‘capitalist class domination’, which avoids the tendency of both critical political science and comparative capitalisms scholarship to substitute the study of specific aspects of capitalism for the analysis of capitalism as a structured whole.
Impaired Cardiac Contractility Response to Hemodynamic Stress in S100A1-Deficient Mice

ABSTRACT Ca2+ signaling plays a central role in cardiac contractility and adaptation to increased hemodynamic demand. We have generated mice with a targeted deletion of the S100A1 gene coding for the major cardiac isoform of the large multigenic S100 family of EF hand Ca2+-binding proteins. S100A1−/− mice have normal cardiac function under baseline conditions but have significantly reduced contraction rate and relaxation rate responses to β-adrenergic stimulation that are associated with a reduced Ca2+ sensitivity. In S100A1−/− mice, basal left-ventricular contractility deteriorated following 3-week pressure overload by thoracic aorta constriction despite a normal adaptive hypertrophy. Surprisingly, heterozygotes also had an impaired response to acute β-adrenergic stimulation but maintained normal contractility in response to chronic pressure overload that coincided with S100A1 upregulation to wild-type levels. In contrast to other genetic models with impaired cardiac contractility, loss of S100A1 did not lead to cardiac hypertrophy or dilation in aged mice. The data demonstrate that high S100A1 protein levels are essential for the cardiac reserve and adaptation to acute and chronic hemodynamic stress in vivo.