Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mechanism of Ammonia Transport by Amt/MEP/Rh: Structure of AmtB at 1.35 Å

The first structure of an ammonia channel from the Amt/MEP/Rh protein superfamily, determined to 1.35 angstrom resolution, shows it to be a channel that spans the membrane 11 times. Two structurally similar halves span the membrane with opposite polarity. Structures with and without ammonia or methyl ammonia show a vestibule that recruits NH 4+/NH3, a binding site for NH 4+, and a 20 angstrom–long hydrophobic channel that lowers the NH 4+ pKa to below 6 and conducts NH3. Favorable interactions for NH3 are seen within the channel and use conserved histidines. Reconstitution of AmtB into vesicles shows that AmtB conducts uncharged NH3.
Ethno-Ecological Identity and the Restructuring of Political Power in Bolivia

On January 22, 2006, history was made in Bolivia when Evo Morales was sworn in as Bolivia's president, becoming the first indigenous leader of a rural-based social movement to govern a Latin American country. An exploration of the historical roots and contemporary sources of the decades-long struggle through which Bolivia's marginalized campesino and indigenous population succeeded in gaining the most powerful voice in the national political arena reveals the significance of identity politics combined with the institutional benefits provided by the organized campesino movement. The concept of ethno-ecological identity—a sociopolitical identity shaped by the unique human-environment relationships and struggles of highland and lowland peoples—is key to understanding the dominant political alliances in Bolivia today and visions for the future.
Can rare SAT formulae be easily recognized? On the efficiency of message-passing algorithms for K-SAT at large clause-to-variable ratios

For large clause-to-variable ratios, typical K-SAT instances drawn from the uniform distribution have no solution. We argue, based on statistical mechanics calculations using the replica and cavity methods, that rare satisfiable instances from the uniform distribution are very similar to typical instances drawn from the so-called planted distribution, where instances are chosen uniformly between the ones that admit a given solution. It then follows, from a recent article by Feige, Mossel and Vilenchik (2006 Complete convergence of message passing algorithms for some satisfiability problems Proc. Random 2006 pp 339–50), that these rare instances can be easily recognized (in O(log N) time and with probability close to 1) by a simple message-passing algorithm.
Computer-based instruction in a professionally-accredited undergraduate tax course

The paper examines the impact of computer-based instruction (CBI) on a professionally-accredited undergraduate taxation course. The objective of introducing CBI into the course was to promote independent learning among students to prepare them for lifelong learning. Students' enthusiasm for the software and the frequency with which they used it would indicate that this objective was achieved to some degree. Furthermore, they perceived CBI to be as effective as lectures and taught tutorials in helping them achieve the designated learning outcomes of the course and to be the most interesting and stimulating learning tool. However, students considered that the tax software chosen was insufficiently detailed to permit achievement of the professional learning outcomes and inadequate as a delivery medium for theoretical and conceptual material. Consequently, supplantive use appears inappropriate on an undergraduate taxation course. Nevertheless, students strongly supported the use of CBI in a supportive role.
A Novel Energy Efficient Resource Allocation Using Hybrid Approach of Genetic DVFS with Bin Packing

Increased resources utilization from several clients in a smart computing environment poses a key challenge in allocating optimal energy efficient resources at the data center. Allocation of these optimal resources should be carried out in such a manner that we can reduce the energy consumption of the data center and also avoid the service level agreement (SLA) violation. This paper deals with the development of an energy efficient algorithm for optimal resources allocation at the data center using hybrid approach of the Dynamic Voltage Frequency Scaling (DVFS), Genetic algorithm (GA) and Bin Packing techniques. The performance of the proposed hybrid approach is compared with Genetic Algorithm, DVFS with Bin Packing, DVFS without Bin Packing techniques. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed energy efficient algorithm consumes 22.4% less energy as compared to the DVFS with Bin Packing technique over a specified workload with 0% SLA violation.
Dietary Fat Preferences Are Inversely Correlated with Peripheral Gustatory Fatty Acid Sensitivity a

ABSTRACT: We previously demonstrated that taste receptor cells (TRCs) respond to cis‐polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) through an inhibition of delayed rectifying K channels (KDR), 1 which may represent the transduction mechanism for dietary fat. To determine if there is a link between the sensitivity of fungiform TRCs to PUFAs and dietary fat preferences, we compared the PUFA‐sensitivity of TRCs using patch clamp techniques from Osborne‐Mendel (O‐M) and S5B/Pl rats, which display dietary preferences for fat over carbohydrate and carbohydrate over fat, respectively. 3 In isolated TRCs, the PUFAs, linoleic (C18:2), linolenic (C18:3) and arachidonic acid (C20:4) inhibit KDR in a concentration‐dependent manner in both strains, while the unsaturated lauric acid (C12:0) was ineffective. KDR from TRCs of S5B/Pl rats were significantly more sensitive to inhibition by all three PUFAs (10 μM) than were TRCs from O‐M rats. We are currently investigating whether this differential responsiveness is due to (i) the relative affinity of the interaction between cis‐PUFAs and the delayed rectifying K channels or (ii) the relative density of delayed rectifying K channels in the two rat strains. Whatever the mechanism, these data suggest an inverse correlation between peripheral gustatory sensitivity to PUFAs and the dietary preference for fat. This finding may provide insight into the mechanism for sensing dietary fat that allows the S5B rats to reduce fat intake on a high‐fat diet and avoid the obesity which results when O‐M rats eat a high‐fat diet.
Worldwide Genotyping in the Planktonic Foraminifer Globoconella inflata: Implications for Life History and Paleoceanography

The planktonic foraminiferal morpho-species Globoconella inflata is widely used as a stratigraphic and paleoceanographic index. While G. inflata was until now regarded as a single species, we show that it rather constitutes a complex of two pseudo-cryptic species. Our study is based on SSU and ITS rDNA sequence analyses and genotyping of 497 individuals collected at 49 oceanic stations covering the worldwide range of the morpho-species. Phylogenetic analyses unveil the presence of two divergent genotypes. Type I inhabits transitional and subtropical waters of both hemispheres, while Type II is restricted to the Antarctic subpolar waters. The two genetic species exhibit a strictly allopatric distribution on each side of the Antarctic Subpolar Front. On the other hand, sediment data show that G. inflata was restricted to transitional and subtropical environments since the early Pliocene, and expanded its geographic range to southern subpolar waters ∼700 kyrs ago, during marine isotopic stage 17. This datum may correspond to a peripatric speciation event that led to the partition of an ancestral genotype into two distinct evolutionary units. Biometric measurements performed on individual G. inflata from plankton tows north and south of the Antarctic Subpolar Front indicate that Types I and II display slight but significant differences in shell morphology. These morphological differences may allow recognition of the G. inflata pseudo-cryptic species back into the fossil record, which in turn may contribute to monitor past movements of the Antarctic Subpolar Front during the middle and late Pleistocene.
THE U.K. HUMAN FERTILISATION AND EMBRYOLOGY AUTHORITY

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act of the United Kingdom was passed in 1990, leading to the formation of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the first statutory body to regulate and control assisted conception anywhere in the world. The principal function of the HFEA is to license and monitor clinics that carry out in vitro fertilization (IVF), donor insemination (DI), and embryo research. Information on over 135,000 treatment cycles, 20,000 pregnancies, and 25,000 babies following IVF has now been collected as part of the regulatory process, and these data have permitted unbiased and accurate evaluation of treatment efficacy using pregnancy and live-birth rates. The treating clinics are required by law to provide information on the outcome of all births, including neonatal mortality and congenital malformations, but there is no systematic validation of these data using medical records or any follow-up of treated women, or babies, over time. In addition, the strict confidentiality of data supplied to the HFEA means that outside researchers have been unable to access the database for research projects. Thus, at the present time, it is not possible to evaluate the long-term safety of assisted conception procedures using HFEA data. There is reasonable scientific evidence to justify full investigation of the health of both treated women and resulting children. Particular health outcomes requiring evaluation include obstetric complications, preterm births, cerebral palsy, and cancer. The HFEA has recognized the need for follow-up studies and is currently investigating ways of enabling research projects using HFEA data to be undertaken.
European Citizenship: Mixing Nation State and Federal Features with a Cosmopolitan Twist

Abstract European citizenship poses a challenge to the paradigmatic understanding of citizenship as congruence between nation, state, and membership rights. Contrary to previous research which has focused on single elements or normative ideas, this paper addresses this challenge by comparing ideal typical models of the EU polity. Is EU citizenship more nation-based, federal, or cosmopolitan? Utilized heuristically, the models account for different features of European citizenship practice, and the relative weighting between them. Based on this conceptual analysis, the main argument is that despite important developments towards granting rights based on ‘personhood’ and not ‘nationhood’, European citizenship is also marked by the interface between nation state and federal arrangements in EU politics. The degree of ‘incongruence’ in European citizenship is therefore dependent on the mixed nature of EU politics, rather than the effect of post-national projects that address the ‘liberation’ of citizenship from nationality.
Incorporating Rural and Farm Novels in the Secondary School Classroom: Where We Come From is Who We Are

Place-based education has received significant attention in recent years. This article briefly surveys common place-based education models and then argues for a more place-focused English language arts classroom in secondary schools where rural and regional literature is often absent from the curricula. The author posits that teacher-education programs do not usually address rural or regional literature and consequently, teachers enter the classroom unprepared to teach it. The article presents a rationale for focusing on rural literature written before 1965 as well as a rationale for foregrounding the rural experience in such a course. The author then describes the process of researching and developing a course template for teachereducation programs wishing to focus on regional literature. Also included are the course template and materials developed using the Rural Lit. R.A. L.L. Y. regional and rural authors database.
Cooperative Relaying and Jamming for Primary Secure Communication in Cognitive Two-Way Networks

In this paper, we investigate a new cooperative paradigm to provide information security for the primary system in cognitive two-way networks where the two-way secondary system can access the licensed spectrum to support the secondary quality of service (QoS) requirement as long as the secondary system provisions secure cooperation for the primary system against the malicious eavesdropper. To do so, the secondary system adopts the physical-layer method of cooperative jamming and relaying to protect the primary confidential message in two stages and acquire some spectrum opportunities for the two-way transmission in both stages. In addition, we try to allocate the power for transmitting jamming signal, secondary messages, and relaying messages in such a way that the secrecy capacity of the primary system is maximized subject to the minimum secondary transmission rate requirements. Furthermore, a sequential parametric convex approximation (SPCA) based iterative algorithm is proposed to solve this non-convex problem. Our proposed cooperative transmission scheme is reciprocally- benefited for both systems as the secondary system can access the licensed spectrum in both two slots and the primary confidential message can be protected from eavesdropping. In addition, we analyze the secrecy capacities for asymptotic scenarios. Simulation results demonstrate the performance superiority of our proposed scheme over conventional cooperative secure communication scheme in terms of the primary secrecy capacity.
Social Ties and User Generated Content: Evidence from an Online Social Network

We use variation in wind speeds at surfing locations in Switzerland as exogenous shifters of users' propensity to post content about their surfing activity onto an online social network. We exploit this variation to test whether users' online content generation activity has a causal effect on their social ties. Under weak monotonicity assumptions, we also estimate nonparametric bounds on the causal effect of user's social ties in turn on their content generation activity. Economically significant causal effects of the type above can produce positive feedback that generates local network effects in content generation. We find evidence for such network effects. We argue this feedback generates a multiplier effect on interventions that subsidize tie formation. We use our estimates to measure the ROI from such interventions and discuss implications for the site's monetization strategy. Our empirical strategy provides one way to address a significant identification challenge with online social network data that the observed network structure is endogenous to the actions taken by agents on the network. Augmenting the model of agent's actions with a model for the network structure requires solving a formidable network formation game. Our approach to this problem is to conduct inference with an incomplete model of network formation under weak assumptions that deliver informative bounds on the causal effects of interest, while avoiding taking a strong stand on a specific model of network formation.
A Preliminary Evaluation of an Abstinence-Oriented Empowerment Program for Public School Youth

Objective: This article describes the process and outcomes of an abstinence-orientated empowerment program that was delivered to an adolescent multicultural population. Method: The study employed a time-limited pretest—posttest OXO design with an N of 130 drawn from youth in public schools from fifth grade to ninth grade. A paired-samples t test was utilized. Effect size was calculated using Cohen's d. Results: Statistically significant differences between the pre- and posttest scores of the treatment group were found for all study variables. Effect sizes were small. Conclusions: Outcomes suggest that a psychoeducational approach that is based on a developmental assets model may be a desirable strategy for those working to help teens to reduce high-risk behaviors.
Development of the fetal pituitary‐testicular system based on observation of leydig cells in encephalectomized, hypophysectomized and control fetal rats

The time of onset of brain regulation of the pituitary‐Leydig cell system in fetal rats was assessed by fetal encephalectomy, which allowed the pituitary to persist in situ. The effects of encephalectomy were compared with those of fetal hypophysectomy (surgical decapitation). The parameter for in terpretation of these effects was the collective volume of Leydig cells, measured by the method of Chalkley ('43). The normal increase in the collective volume of Leydig cells in fetuses encephalectomized on day 17 of gestation and autopsied on day 18 was not retarded, whereas that in decapitated fetuses of the same age was retarded. In all other one‐day experimental periods (day 18–19, 19–20, 20–21, and 21–22), the increase in volume was retarded to approximately the same extent in encephalectomized as in decapitated fetuses. The collective volume of Leydig cells continued to increase to some extent without the brain until day 20, after which it ceased to increase. The results suggest that in fetal rats, the brain control of the pituitary‐Leydig cell system begins to operate from day 18 of gestation, when the day following overnight mating was designated as day 1 of gestation.
Treatment approaches to aphasia: Contributions of VA clinicians

Background: Since the 1950s, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) clinicians and researchers have made significant contributions to the aphasia treatment literature. This paper, one of a series on VA contributions to the diagnosis and management of aphasia and related disorders, highlights some of these treatment approaches. They are described within the changing context of how aphasia and its management have been viewed over the past several decades. Aims: The purpose of this paper is to describe specific treatment approaches in the management of aphasia to which VA clinician researchers have significantly contributed. Research studies evaluating the efficacy and effectiveness of these treatment approaches are cited. Conclusions: Beginning with Schuell's intensive auditory stimulation approach in the period after World War II and continuing into the present as new approaches based on recent data from the neurosciences are investigated, VA clinician‐researchers have been at the forefront of novel treatments for aphasia. Individuals with aphasia as well as their families and other communication partners have benefited from these efforts.
Development of an Instrument to Measure University Students' Social Ties and Social Distance with a Particular Focus on Racial and Ethnic Diversity

As university campuses become more racially and ethnically diverse, the opportunities for students to create and maintain friendships with individuals whose experiences and cultures differ from their own increases. The level of comfort an individual has toward those of a different race or ethnicity could influence how they meet, interact with and maintain a diverse group of friends. A student’s perception of diversity will not only influence the social ties and social distance they have within their circle of friends throughout their college years but may also influence later life opportunities such as job searches, job tasks and financial opportunities. A survey designed to measure students’ social ties and social distance was administered to one hundred eighty-two university students. The statistical analysis reveals that students who are more comfortable with people from a different race or ethnicity are more likely to interact with diverse groups of people. Preliminary findings also suggest that students are more likely to interact with diverse groups of people in the classroom than in purely social situations. These findings have implications with regard to how communities, companies and schools create interactions that cultivate meaningful and long-lasting relationships among diverse groups.
Effects of Rosiglitazone, Glyburide, and Metformin on β-Cell Function and Insulin Sensitivity in ADOPT

OBJECTIVE ADOPT (A Diabetes Outcome Progression Trial) demonstrated that initial monotherapy with rosiglitazone provided superior durability of glycemic control compared with metformin and glyburide in patients with recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes. Herein, we examine measures of β-cell function and insulin sensitivity from an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) over a 4-year period among the three treatments. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Recently diagnosed, drug-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes (4,360 total) were treated for a median of 4.0 years with rosiglitazone, metformin, or glyburide and were examined with periodic metabolic testing using an OGTT. RESULTS Measures of β-cell function and insulin sensitivity from an OGTT showed more favorable changes over time with rosiglitazone versus metformin or glyburide. Persistent improvements were seen in those who completed 4 years of monotherapy and marked deterioration of β-cell function in those who failed to maintain adequate glucose control with initial monotherapy. CONCLUSIONS The favorable combined changes in β-cell function and insulin sensitivity over time with rosiglitazone appear to be responsible for its superior glycemic durability over metformin and glyburide as initial monotherapy in type 2 diabetes.
Total quality management in California public higher education

This paper investigates the extent of Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation in two California public higher education systems: the California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC) systems. These two higher education systems include 32 statewide campuses with over half a million students and 27,000 faculty. A questionnaire was sent to all campuses in both the CSU and UC systems. Issues such as TQM implementation and the benefits and challenges of such implementation are surveyed, discussed and analyzed. This study reveals that more than half of the California public universities are implementing TQM in one form or another and the TQM implementation in the CSU system is much wider than that in the UC system. In general, the character of implementation is still limited to business‐type operations in universities, such as business finance and administrative services.
NISTIR 7436 An Ontology for Assembly Representation

Mechanical assemblies are systems composed of modules that are either subassemblies or parts. Traditionally an assembly information model contains information regarding parts, their relationships, and its form. But it is important that the model also represent the function and behavior. This report describes the development of an Ontological Assembly Model in the broader context of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). The ontological assembly model can help in achieving various levels of interoperability as required to enable the full potential of PLM. In this report we first present an Ontology Web Language (OWL) version of the Core Product Model (CPM) and subsequently an Open Assembly Model (OAM) based on their previous Unified Modeling Language (UML) versions developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) [7] [8] [9]. Besides developing a semantic assembly information model, we further extend this model to incorporate reasoning capabilities. We explore and discuss various tools and methodologies for ontological assembly modeling with reasoning capabilities. The ontological assembly model can be considered an extension to the NIST OAM with semantic interoperability. This extended Assembly Ontology in OWL could serve to test the advantages of a semantic approach to represent a product structure evolution i.e., from the design phases and throughout the life of the product. An example case study is additionally discussed to explain the Ontological Assembly Model including rules and reasoning capabilities.