Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High throughput sequencing reveals a complex pattern of dynamic interrelationships among human T cell subsets

Developing T cells face a series of cell fate choices in the thymus and in the periphery. The role of the individual T cell receptor (TCR) in determining decisions of cell fate remains unresolved. The stochastic/selection model postulates that the initial fate of the cell is independent of TCR specificity, with survival dependent on additional TCR/coreceptor “rescue” signals. The “instructive” model holds that cell fate is initiated by the interaction of the TCR with a cognate peptide-MHC complex. T cells are then segregated on the basis of TCR specificity with the aid of critical coreceptors and signal modulators [Chan S, Correia-Neves M, Benoist C, Mathis (1998) Immunol Rev 165: 195–207]. The former would predict a random representation of individual TCR across divergent T cell lineages whereas the latter would predict minimal overlap between divergent T cell subsets. To address this issue, we have used high-throughput sequencing to evaluate the TCR distribution among key T cell developmental and effector subsets from a single donor. We found numerous examples of individual subsets sharing identical TCR sequence, supporting a model of a stochastic process of cell fate determination coupled with dynamic patterns of clonal expansion of T cells bearing the same TCR sequence among both CD4+ and CD8+ populations.
A solution of a DTV recommendation engine based on broadband and broadcast data

Age of digital television has brought many changes to television user's experience. On one side there is comfort because of great amount of data available in the stream and possibility of accessing the Internet over TV. On the other side great amount of data brings significant discomfort, if the data is not organized well and user has to browse through it for a long time. This paper describes a solution for recommending similar data originating from digital television stream or from the Internet. Aim of the presented solution is personalization of television content and related data from the Internet and also selection of most proper results. Main approaches are described and the solution is compared to some existing solutions.
Family-friendly labour market policies and careers in Sweden—and the lack of them

ABSTRACT This article discusses the origin and development of family-friendly policies and careers in Sweden. The starting-point for the discussion is that what ‘family-friendly’ is can never be separated from the gendered labour market. Drawing on Lotte Bailyn's analysis of gender ‘equity’, the article argues that the Swedish labour market has no doubt become much more ‘family-friendly’ over the decades, through family-friendly reforms, but the move has definitely lost pace, maybe even been slightly reversed, in the 1990s and 2000s. Seemingly, political and social reforms cannot reach much further without a radical change in people's views of labour division at home, i.e. in the private sphere.
English–Latvian Toponym Processing: Translation Strategies and Linguistic Patterns

The paper presents a study of a challenging task in machine translation and crosslanguage information retrieval – translation of toponyms. Due to their linguistic and extra-linguistic nature, toponyms deserve a special treatment. The overall translation process includes two stages of processing: dictionary-based and out-ofvocabulary toponym translation. The latter is divided into three steps: source string normalisation, translation, and target string normalisation. The translation process implies an application of translation strategies and linguistic toponym translation patterns. Possible translation strategies, including transliteration and translation per se along with combined strategies, and linguistic toponym translation patterns, including multi-word patterns as well, were investigated and implemented for English-Latvian machine translation. 10,000 The UK-related toponyms from Geonames were selected for a development set. The evaluation of output quality on basis of a test set has showed 67% accuracy in out-ofvocabulary translation: 58% on a set containing one-word toponymic units and 81% on a multi-word test set.
Release of glucose from perfused liver preparation in response to stimulation of the splanchnic nerves in the toad.

1. The effects of stimulation of the peripheral ends of the splanchnic nerve have been studied in isolated toad liver.2. An increase in glucose concentration in perfusate in response to splanchnic nerve stimulation as well as adrenaline or noradrenaline application was observed.3. Relationship between stimulus frequency and release of glucose was studied. From the experiments it was found that the amount of glucose released from the liver is closely related to the number of electrical pulses applied to the nerve.4. Perfusate accumulated during splanchnic nerve stimulation in an isolated liver preparation showed a vasoconstrictor effect on blood vessels in the rabbit ear. Perfusate accumulated from reserpinized toad liver showed no vasoconstrictor effect.5. Reserpine blocked the effect of nerve stimulation on release of glucose but not that of adrenaline application. Propranolol blocked the effect of stimulation as well as that of adrenaline injection. Dibenamine showed no blocking effect.6. It is concluded that without vagal influence the release of glucose occurs in the liver as the result of splanchnic nerve stimulation via the hepatic innervation in toad.
On the Relationship between the Student‐Advisor Match and Early Career Research Productivity for Agricultural and Resource Economics Ph.D.S

We use a unique data set on students receiving their Ph.D.s from top-ranked agricultural and resource economics programs to investigate how the ranking of a student's dissertation advisor affects his or her early career research productivity. After controlling for program reputation, we find that the higher the relative research productivity of a student's dissertation advisor the greater the student's early career research productivity. Allowing the estimated effects of advisor rank to vary with program reputation suggests that students from lower-ranked programs working with relatively more prominent advisors outperform their peers at highly ranked programs working with less prominent advisors.
Dynamic gravity cancellation in robots with flexible transmissions

We consider the problem of perfect cancellation of gravity effects in the dynamics of robot manipulators having flexible transmissions at the joints. Based on the feedback equivalence principle, we aim at designing feedback control laws that let the system outputs behave as those of a desired model where gravity is absent. The cases of constant stiffness (elastic joints), nonlinear flexible, and variable nonlinear flexible transmissions with antagonistic actuation are analyzed. In all these situations, viable solutions are obtained either in closed algebraic form or by a simple numerical technique. The compensated system can then be controlled without taking into account the gravity bias, which is particularly relevant for safe physical human-robot interaction tasks where such compliant manipulators are commonly used. Simulation results are reported illustrating the obtained performance.
Properties of GDP-mannose Pyrophosphorylase, a Critical Enzyme and Drug Target in Leishmania mexicana*

Leishmania parasites synthesize a range of mannose-containing glycoconjugates thought to be essential for virulence in the mammalian host and sandfly vector. A prerequisite for the synthesis of these molecules is the availability of the activated mannose donor, GDP-Man, the product of the catalysis of mannose-1-phosphate and GTP by GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase (GDP-MP). In contrast to the lethal phenotype in fungi, the deletion of the gene in Leishmania mexicana did not affect parasite viability but led to a total loss of virulence, making GDP-MP an ideal target for anti-Leishmania drug development. We show by immunofluorescence and subcellular fractionation that GDP-MP is a cytoplasmic protein, and we describe a colorimetric activity assay suitable for the high throughput screening of small molecule inhibitors. We expressed recombinant GDP-MP as a fusion with maltose-binding protein and separated the enzyme from maltose-binding protein by thrombin cleavage, ion-exchange, and size exclusion chromatography. Size exclusion chromatography and analytical ultracentrifugation studies demonstrate that GDP-MP self-associates to form an enzymatically active and stable hexamer. However, sedimentation studies show that the GDP-MP hexamer dissociates to trimers and monomers in a time-dependent manner, at low protein concentrations, at low ionic strength, and at alkaline pH. Circular dichroism spectroscopy reveals that GDP-MP is comprised of mixed α/β structure, similar to its closest related homologue, N-acetyl-glucoseamine-1-phosphate uridyltransferase (Glmu) from Streptococcus pneumoniae. Our studies provide insight into the structure of a novel target for the development of anti-Leishmania drugs.
Phase Classification by Mean Shift Clustering of Multispectral Materials Images

Abstract A mean-shift clustering (MSC) algorithm is introduced as a valuable alternative to perform materials phase classification from multispectral images. As opposed to other multivariate statistical techniques, such as factor analysis or principal component analysis (PCA), clustering techniques directly assign a class label to each pixel, so that their outputs are phase segmented images, i.e., there is no need for an additional segmentation algorithm. On the other hand, as compared to other clustering procedures and classification methods, such as segmentation by thresholding of multiple spectral components, MSC has the advantages of not requiring previous knowledge of the number of data clusters and not assuming any shape for these clusters, i.e., neither the number nor the composition of the phases must be previously known. This makes MSC a particularly useful tool for exploratory research, assisting phase identification of unknown samples. Visualization and interpretation of the results are also simplified, since the information content of the output image does not depend on the particular choice of the content of the color channels. We applied MSC to the analysis of two sets of X-ray maps acquired in scanning electron microscopes equipped with energy-dispersive detection systems. Our results indicate that MSC is capable of detecting additional phases, not clearly identified through PCA or multiple thresholding, with a very low empirical reject rate.
The design of a comprehensive game engine for rehabilitation

Physical and cognitive rehabilitation under the form of therapeutic videogames has been growing in popularity over the last years. Many rehabilitation games (or exergames) have been created with the intent to promote functional rehabilitation in a highly motivational environment. However, such exergames are often created as standalone products typically designed to target a specific exercise. Accordingly, they are usually difficult to integrate in a more structured therapy and also have very different and varied features. There is therefore a need in this area for a more holistic approach with game engines specifically designed for rehabilitation that would represent the next step in this field to guarantee efficacy, accessibility and motivational factors of exergames. In this paper, we present our Intelligent Game Engine for Rehabilitation (IGER) that tries to address these issues; we highlight the features it supports, we present some of the games we created with it, and the initial results we achieved so far.
Some factors influencing the performances of a speaker recognition system based on LPC

Linear prediction parameters are critically dependent upon the short-term spectrum of speech and therefore to noises and distorsions introduced by transmission and recording systems. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the performances of an automatic speaker recognition system, based on LPC, on the same speech material recorded in three different conditions: on a quiet room, from dialled up telephones lines via direct hookup and via a suction cup tap. Each of ten speakers spoke an 8s long sentence four times over a two-months period. Sentences were manually segmented and performance evaluation was conducted on phonemes, on breath groups and on the whole sentence using a minimum weighted distance classifier.
Employment relations in the UK civil service

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to bring together two separate strands of the literature (politics and industrial relations) on civil service management and reform to enable consideration of the industrial relations implications of these changes. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is conceptual and has no empirical base. The paper is a general review of existing literature on the subject. Findings – The paper identifies the importance of historical legacy in both management and union behaviour in the civil service. By revisiting earlier civil service reforms, the reader is able to gain an understanding of the rationale for much of the current restructuring of the civil service. Additionally, any discussion of trade union behaviour should be located in the context of union tradition and evolution. Research limitations/implications – In being a general review, the paper does not report empirical evidence but instead provides the background for future research into civil service industrial relat.
Dismantling Discrimination Against Developing Countries: Access, Rules and Differential Treatment

This Paper discusses the challenges confronting developing countries seeking to overcome discrimination in world trade rules and policies. The major sources of discrimination in both developed and developing countries in the areas of market access opportunities and WTO disciplines are briefly summarized. Some of these reflect good intentions towards developing countries, but are bad economics. Many others reflect self-interest or successful capture of policy by interest groups in either the North and/or the South. Moving forward requires less discrimination on market access, but more differentiation when it comes to ‘non-core’ or resource-intensive global rules.
PENGARUH KEPUASAN KARYAWAN, TRAINING, TURNOVER, DAN PRODUKTIVITAS KARYAWAN TERHADAP KEUNGGULAN BERSAING MELALUI KINERJA PERUSAHAAN

Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk menentukan dan menganalisis kinerja sumberdaya manusia untuk keunggulan kompetitif karyawan PT. Kubota Indonesia berdasarkan perspektif pertumbuhan dan pembelajaran karyawan dengan metode balance scorecard. Variabel yang digunakan adalah kepuasan kerja karyawan, turnover karyawan, training dan produktivitas karyawan sebagai variabel independen adalah keunggulan kompetitif sebagai variabel intervening kinerja. Jumlah sampel sebanyak 68 responden. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kinerja memiliki pengaruh langsung yang paling besar terhadap keunggulan bersaing. Produktivitas memberikan pengaruh langsung yang paling kecil terhadap keunggulan bersaing. Selain itu variabel turnover karyawan memberikan pengaruh tidak langsung yang paling besar terhadap keunggulan bersaing, sedangkan variabel produktivitas memberikan pengaruh tidak langsung yang paling kecil terhadap keunggulan bersaing. This study aims to determine and analyze the performance of human resources to the competitive advantage of PT. Kubota Indonesia’s employees from the growth perspective and employee learning. The balanced scorecard method is implemented. The variabels used in this study consist of four independent variabels; they are employee satisfaction at work, employee turnover, training and employee productivity. Then, a dependent variabel (competitive advantage) as well as an intervening variabel (performance) are also used. The data are primary data, derived from the questionnaires consisted of closed questions. The questionaires are deployed in 68 respondents. After analyzing the data, the result say that the performance variabel provides the most direct influence on competitive advantage. The productivity variabel gives the least impact on the competitive advantage. Then, turnover variabel of employee provides the greatest indirect effect on the competitive advantage, while the productivity variabel provides the least indirect influence on the competitive advantage.
The impact of independent directors and independent audit committees on earnings quality reported by Indonesian firms

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether independent directors and audit committees that are chaired by an independent director as required by the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) affect the quality of reported earnings. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses both total discretionary accruals (DA) and earnings response coefficient (ERC) as the proxies for earnings quality. It runs multivariate regressions to examine the improvements in earnings quality after the firms meet the JSX requirements. Findings - It is found that both DA and ERC improve significantly after firms acquire independent directors and independent audit committees. Lower DA occurs in the first and second years after the firms meet the JSX requirements. There is an improvement in ERC in the first years after firms meeting the requirements. Research limitations/implications - The results suggest that independent directors and audit committees do improve earnings quality. Originality/value - This is the first paper that compares the quality of earnings before and after firms acquire independent directors and independent audit committees. This methodology allows us to examine the impact of meeting JSX independence requirements on earnings quality. The findings contribute to the literature by showing the importance of having independent directors and an independent audit committee in order to improve earnings quality. These findings are specifically important for the capital market regulatory bodies, the shareholders, and the boards of directors, and for other users of financial reports in general.
Cybercrime: An Epidemic

Painted in the broadest of strokes, cybercrime essentially is the leveraging of information systems and technology to commit larceny, extortion, identity theft, fraud, and, in some cases, corporate espionage. Who are the miscreants who commit these crimes, and what are their motivations? One might imagine they are not the same individuals committing crimes in the physical world. Bank robbers and scam artists garner a certain public notoriety after only a few occurrences of their crimes, yet cybercriminals largely remain invisible and unheralded. Based on sketchy news accounts and a few public arrests, such as Mafiaboy, accused of paralyzing Amazon, CNN, and other Web sites, the public may infer these miscreants are merely a subculture of teenagers. In this article we provide insight into the root causes of cybercrime, its participants and their motivations, and we identify some of the issues inherent in dealing with this crime wave.
A Novel Analytical Model for Service Delay in IEEE 802.11 Networks

In this paper, we present a novel analytical model for the service delay in IEEE 802.11 networks. This model is capable of closely tracking service delay's behavior in real wireless local area networks. We find a compact closed-form expression for the probability-generating function (PGF) of service delay using which all higher-order moments are achievable. We begin with finding the service-delay PGF; then we determine the probability density (mass) function of the delay metric by taking the inverse z-transform using numerical methods. At last, by comparing the first two statistical moments of this PGF with the mean delay and standard deviation from simulation results, the accuracy of the proposed analytical model is proved.
Sustainable planning model toward reviving Lake Urmia

Lake Urmia (Urumieh in Persian) in north-western Iran is one of the largest permanent hyper-saline lakes in the world and the largest lake in the Middle East. It has numerous ecological, economic and social implications in terms of biodiversity, climate, species, habitat, tourism and recreation. However, during the past decade, the lake has shrunk significantly and its depth has fallen by almost 6 m. Contrary to other studies that have focused on the geomorphology of the lake, this study analyses the socio-environmental impact and provides a sustainable adaptive governance management model for its revival. This study reveals that unless various stakeholders and affected parties are actively involved in an implementable adaptive governance model, the fate of the lake will remain uncertain.
Short-term modified alternate-day fasting: a novel dietary strategy for weight loss and cardioprotection in obese adults.

BACKGROUND The ability of modified alternate-day fasting (ADF; ie, consuming 25% of energy needs on the fast day and ad libitum food intake on the following day) to facilitate weight loss and lower vascular disease risk in obese individuals remains unknown. OBJECTIVE This study examined the effects of ADF that is administered under controlled compared with self-implemented conditions on body weight and coronary artery disease (CAD) risk indicators in obese adults. DESIGN Sixteen obese subjects (12 women, 4 men) completed a 10-wk trial, which consisted of 3 phases: 1) a 2-wk control phase, 2) a 4-wk weight loss/ADF controlled food intake phase, and 3) a 4-wk weight loss/ADF self-selected food intake phase. RESULTS Dietary adherence remained high throughout the controlled food intake phase (days adherent: 86%) and the self-selected food intake phase (days adherent: 89%). The rate of weight loss remained constant during controlled food intake (0.67 +/- 0.1 kg/wk) and self-selected food intake phases (0.68 +/- 0.1 kg/wk). Body weight decreased (P < 0.001) by 5.6 +/- 1.0 kg (5.8 +/- 1.1%) after 8 wk of diet. Percentage body fat decreased (P < 0.01) from 45 +/- 2% to 42 +/- 2%. Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triacylglycerol concentrations decreased (P < 0.01) by 21 +/- 4%, 25 +/- 10%, and 32 +/- 6%, respectively, after 8 wk of ADF, whereas HDL cholesterol remained unchanged. Systolic blood pressure decreased (P < 0.05) from 124 +/- 5 to 116 +/- 3 mm Hg. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that ADF is a viable diet option to help obese individuals lose weight and decrease CAD risk. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as UIC-004-2009.
Modernising Local Government

"Reform of local government has been a central part of the Blair governments''modernisation' agenda. This article examines four specific aspects of the modernisation of local government: the implications of constitutional change for councillor roles; the direct election of mayors; new arrangements for the scrutiny of executive action; and the dilemmas and challenges facing local government officers. It argues that the Blair reforms have brought about significant changes to the organisation and operation of local authorities, but whether the reforms have achieved the government's objectives remains open to question. " Copyright (c) Institute of Economic Affairs 2006.