Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prioritization of candidate cancer genes—an aid to oncogenomic studies

The development of techniques for oncogenomic analyses such as array comparative genomic hybridization, messenger RNA expression arrays and mutational screens have come to the fore in modern cancer research. Studies utilizing these techniques are able to highlight panels of genes that are altered in cancer. However, these candidate cancer genes must then be scrutinized to reveal whether they contribute to oncogenesis or are coincidental and non-causative. We present a computational method for the prioritization of candidate (i) proto-oncogenes and (ii) tumour suppressor genes from oncogenomic experiments. We constructed computational classifiers using different combinations of sequence and functional data including sequence conservation, protein domains and interactions, and regulatory data. We found that these classifiers are able to distinguish between known cancer genes and other human genes. Furthermore, the classifiers also discriminate candidate cancer genes from a recent mutational screen from other human genes. We provide a web-based facility through which cancer biologists may access our results and we propose computational cancer gene classification as a useful method of prioritizing candidate cancer genes identified in oncogenomic studies.
Is religiosity an important determinant on Muslim consumer behaviour in Malaysia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of religiosity on Muslim consumer behaviour and on purchasing decision.Design/methodology/approach – Survey comprised a sample of 232 Muslims from the middle‐ and upper‐income groups who work in Shah Alam and Bangi in the Selangor state of Malaysia.Findings – The findings indicate that religious Muslims in Shah Alam and Bangi area consider Islam as their source of reference and they spend moderately, as commanded by Allah in the Quran. This study confirms that religiosity acts as a full mediating role in the relationship between relative and contextual variables, and purchase behaviour of Muslim consumers.Originality/value – The paper's interesting findings serve to remind entrepreneurs that they cannot neglect the element of religion in their marketing activities, particularly in the development of products.
Tai Chi as a Balance Improvement Exercise for Older Adults: A Systematic Review

Purpose:The purpose of this systematic review was to identify exercise parameters and the most common outcome measures used in tai chi (TC) research. Methods:Ovid Medline and PubMed were used to identify longitudinal studies published from January 2000 to July 2007 written in English with the key words tai chi, tai ji, tai chi quan, tai ji quan, balance, falls, and falling. Qualifying studies had subjects aged 60 years or older. Results:In all 19 qualified prospective studies, older vigorous and likely transitional frail individuals seemed to benefit more from TC than did older frail individuals. The most commonly used TC parameters were Yang's style, with 12 or fewer forms, durations of 12 weeks or longer, frequencies of twice a week or more, and session lengths of at least 45 minutes. The most common outcome measures observed were a combination of 2 to 5 of the following 10 measures (from most to least common): fear of falling, single-leg stance, posturography, rate of falling, flexibility, walking velocity, Berg Balance Scale, Timed up and Go, Functional Reach, and ankle and knee joint strength and range of motion. Improvements were reported in almost all of these measures. Conclusions:This review indicates that TC may be an economic and effective exercise program for improving balance and balance confidence in older adults
Generation capacity investment in oligopolistic electricity markets under uncertainty

The paper discusses game theoretic models for generation capacity investment decisions in a deregulated electricity market. We present an example of an S-adapted Cournot equilibrium, which we apply to the German electricity market. Investment decisions derived by this dynamic oligopoly model are then compared to what the perfect competition result in an otherwise unchanged setup would be. We conclude that there seems to be a problem with underinvestment and technology mix in the current market structure. Possible remedies could be more competition or price caps which both mitigate the incentive to invest less to drive up prices.
Autonomous work groups in a greenfield site: A comparative study

This paper describes an investigation of the attitudinal and motivational effects of autonomous group working in a greenfield site. Through the use of multiple comparison groups, the study demonstrates that the planned manipulation of work design was successful, leading to greater perceived work role complexity as well as to commensurate differences in perceived leadership style. These manifest and experienced differences in work design are shown to result in significantly higher levels of job satisfaction. However, no effect was found for employee motivation, organizational commitment, trust or mental health.
Managing coherent groups

The animation of groups of characters involves the generation of some interesting steering behaviors like following a single path, moving toward a common objective, and moving while keeping a formation. This paper presents a new approach to manage the movement of groups in dynamic environments using a simple and robust algorithm that includes a strategy to keep formations during the displacement of the group. Our method is based on a boundary value problem (BVP) involving Laplace's equation and has two layers. In the first one, a group map is built to allow for local control of each individual, while in the second one a path planning is performed for each group as a whole. Results show that our technique is robust to several situations and can be implemented on GPU, which results in real‐time performance for large groups. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Publish or perish? Publications and citations of Italian political scientists in international political science journals, 1990-2002

In this article we present data on the publications of Italian political scientists in international journals. We first introduce the reader to the specific context of Italian political science and illustrate the pattern of problematic institutionalization of this discipline in Italy. We then work on our broad set of eighty-nine journals indexed in the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) social science citation index, examined over the period 1990-2002. We present and discuss data on the publications and citations of all academics with an Italian affiliation in political science journals, and, within this set, political scientists. Judging by our data, Italian political scientists have a limited propensity to participate in the international debate - an indication of the problems encountered by political science as a possible 'European' or 'international discipline'. We also note that, when they publish, Italian political scientists do not engage with major theoretical and/or comparative topics, but prefer to write articles on Italian politics. We conclude with some ideas about how to increase the participation of Italian political scientists in the wider European and international debate.
Control mechanisms in bilingual language production: Neural evidence from language switching studies

A key question in bilingual language production research is how bilingual individuals control the use of their two languages. The psycholinguistic literature concerning language control is unresolved. It is a matter of controversy whether (a) issues to do with control are central to understanding bilingual language processing; and (b) if they are, what is the site or sites of control; and (c) whether language control in bilinguals relies upon inhibitory mechanisms. One way to deepen our understanding of language control is to consider the implications from research on functional neuroimaging. In the present paper, we illustrate that neuroimaging research shows that bilinguals engage cognitive control networks for achieving tasks such as language switching. The neural evidence points to multiple neural regions of control that may rely upon an inhibitory mechanism. These ‘brain data’ may, in turn, stimulate the development of neurocognitive accounts of bilingual language processing.
Clinical significance of altered expression of retinoid receptors in oral precancerous and cancerous lesions: Relationship with cell cycle regulators

Alterations in expression of retinoid receptors are implicated in human cancers. We hypothesized that altered expression of retinoic acid receptors (RARα,β,γ) and retinoid X receptor RXRα and their relationship with cell cycle regulators (p53, p16, p21) is associated with development, progression and prognosis of oral cancer. Immunohistochemical analysis of RAR α, β, γ and RXRα proteins was carried out on serial sections from 244 oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs), 102 potentially malignant lesions (65 hyperplasias, 37 dysplasias), 83 matched histologically normal oral tissues and 29 normal mucosa from non‐exposed individuals without oral lesions and correlated with expression of cell cycle regulators p53, p16 and p21 as well as with clinicopathological parameters. Expression of retinoid receptors RARβ, RARγ, RXRα and cell cycle regulators p16 and p21 was decreased in majority of oral SCCs as well as in potentially malignant lesions. Multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis carried out for comparison of non‐exposed normal oral mucosa with histologically normal oral tissues from patients with oral lesions showed significant loss of RARβ or p53 accumulation (RARβ−/p53+ Odd's ratio, OR = 266.6, p = 0.000); non‐exposed normal mucosa from individuals without oral lesions with potentially malignant lesion was RARβ−/p21−/p53+ (OR = 215.7, p = 0.000); matched normal to potentially malignant stage was RARα+/p21− (OR = 4.414, p = 0.005); hyperplasia to dysplasia was RARα+/p53+ (OR = 4.72, p = 0.005) and potentially malignant to malignant phenotype was RARα+ (OR = 2.061, p = 0.004). The prognostic relevance of these factors was assessed in 115 of these SCC patients who were followed‐up for a maximum period of 94 months (median 21 months). Multivariate analysis using Cox's proportional Hazard's model showed that RARα+/p21− phenotype was associated with shorter disease‐free survival (Hazard's ratio, HR = 1.863, p = 0.0471). To our knowledge, this is the first large study showing alterations in expression of retinoid receptors at the protein level at different stages in development and progression of oral SCC. It also underscored the prognostic significance of retinoid receptors and their interactions with cell cycle regulators in multistep oral tumorigenesis. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Saliency histogram equalisation and its application to image resizing

This study presents a novel method for content-aware image resizing based on the normalised saliency map of an image termed saliency histogram (SH), which provides the probability of a target's presence in the spatial location domain. Motivated by the idea of spreading the histogram of an image on the grey scale known as image histogram equalisation for contrast enhancement, fast SH equalisation (SHE) has been proposed to distribute the content of an image in the resized image domain similarly. Experimental results show that SHE has a tendency to protect salient foreground objects, and it takes only fractions of a second to resize an 1024 × 768 image.
Social technologies: Cross-disciplinary reflections on technologies in and from the social sciences

In this introduction, we explore the relevance to critical psychology of the ideas about technology that have come from science and technology studies (STS), which we argue allow a new look at a classic theme in critical approaches in psychology. Rather than seeing psychical and social reality as objective realities, critical psychologists have approached them as the products of historically situated practices, intimately tied up with the circumstances of their production. We suggest that this metaphor of production can be developed in new ways by investigating tools, methods, and phenomena within psychology through the optic of STS. At the same time, STS may also gain from turning to psychology, since it has predominantly focused on the natural sciences and may be inspired to adjust its analytical approach to people and technology through this encounter. We position the notion of social technology both in relation to assumed distinctions between the natural and the social world and in relation to critiques of these assumptions. With the concept of social technology, we argue for investigating the instruments of psychology and social science with equal attention to the way so-called “technical” and “human” elements work together, and sometimes fail, to constitute particular effects.
‘Playing the Fool’: US Welfare Policy from a Critical Race Perspective

In this article, we draw on critical race theory and critical race feminism to deconstruct contemporary US welfare policy. The political framing of work requirements, single motherhood, and ‘citizenship’ under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 are used to illustrate the racism, sexism, and classism that pervade current regulations. Drawing on Hurtado’s (1996) conceptualization of the ‘Pendejo Game’, we argue that political elites feign ignorance of poverty and structural inequities to legitimate policies that maintain economic disparities. We conclude with suggestions for disrupting the Pendejo Game and promoting economic justice.
Forgetting of word associates as a function of recall interval

A series of experiments is reported which sought to replicate the observations of Parkin et al. (1982) that recall of self-generated associates of emotional words is poorer than recall of associates of neutral words on immediate testing, but that the reverse is true when testing is delayed. In the first experiment independent groups of subjects were tested for recall immediately after administration of the word association test used by Parkin et al. and after an interval of one day. Associates of emotional words were less well recalled than associates of neutral words at both time intervals. In the second experiment different stimulus materials were used in an attempt to control for a number of possible confounds in the word list used in the first experiment. Independent groups were tested for recall immediately and after intervals of one hour, one day and one week. Results indicated poorer recall for associates of emotional than neutral words at all test intervals. A third experiment examined attributes of the words given as associates in Expt 2 and demonstrated that the major difference between the associates of emotional and neutral words was their affective value. A possible interpretation of the influence of emotion on forgetting was offered in terms of network theory of human memory.
Learning from user experience in games

Several concepts from traditional research on Artificial Intelligence (AI) need to be trained before they can be used. For example, when applied to a computer game, its AI framework has to “learn” how the game should be played. However, such trainings may not be trivial due to the often complex game world environments. This paper presents a novel training approach for game AI frameworks where, instead of manually a priori defining game playing rules at design time, training of the AI system takes place interactively while sample games are being played. Additionally this paper provides an example of modeling the game world so that game objects, such as Non-Playing Characters (NPCs), can be trained interactively. We also give an outlook to our ongoing research on the incorporation of the presented interactive training approach to a real-world game, namely an autonomous controller for the arcade Ms. Pac Man video game using Case-Based Planning.
The Drosophila blood-brain barrier: development and function of a glial endothelium

The efficacy of neuronal function requires a well-balanced extracellular ion homeostasis and a steady supply with nutrients and metabolites. Therefore, all organisms equipped with a complex nervous system developed a so-called blood-brain barrier, protecting it from an uncontrolled entry of solutes, metabolites or pathogens. In higher vertebrates, this diffusion barrier is established by polarized endothelial cells that form extensive tight junctions, whereas in lower vertebrates and invertebrates the blood-brain barrier is exclusively formed by glial cells. Here, we review the development and function of the glial blood-brain barrier of Drosophila melanogaster. In the Drosophila nervous system, at least seven morphologically distinct glial cell classes can be distinguished. Two of these glial classes form the blood-brain barrier. Perineurial glial cells participate in nutrient uptake and establish a first diffusion barrier. The subperineurial glial (SPG) cells form septate junctions, which block paracellular diffusion and thus seal the nervous system from the hemolymph. We summarize the molecular basis of septate junction formation and address the different transport systems expressed by the blood-brain barrier forming glial cells.
Specificity of secretory antibodies to bacterial immunogens

The present investigation examined the specificity of the salivary immune response of axenic and conventional mice to topically administered Salmonella typhi, S. gallinarum, and S. typhimurium. Specific antibacterial antibodies were determined by passive hemagglutination and bacterial agglutination. Reciprocal antibody titers up to 320 were detected in saliva from mice immunized and assayed with homologous antigens. Antibodies to heterologous immunogens exhibited lower mean titers of 10 to 20 under identical conditions. High concentrations of specific antibodies to the somatic (O) antigen were detected in the saliva of mice administered these microorganisms; however, no significant differences in serum antibody levels were detectable after oral immunization. Only low levels of specific antiflagellar (H) antibodies were demonstrated in the saliva of immunized mice, whereas mean reciprocal titers of 20 were observed in the serum. Antibodies to the Vi antigen of S. typhi were detected in the saliva and serum of only those mice administered formalin-treated S. typhi. Examination of the classes of antibody elicited by these organisms indicated that immunoglobulin A (IgA) was the predominant class in saliva against the O antigens. The salivary response to the H antigens was comprised of both IgG and IgA, whereas the specific serum immunoglobulins were consistent with a primary humoral immune reaction. Local antibodies formed in response to the Vi antigen were exclusively IgG. Serum immunoglobulins produced after peroral administration of the somatic and virulence antigens were limited to the IgM class.
How Message Evaluation and Source Attributes May Influence Credibility Assessment and Belief Change

Although source credibility's importance in communication, particularly in persuasion, is well documented, audience processes in assessing source credibility and the resulting impact are inadequately specified. We hypothesize message quality will have direct effects and mediate partially the effects of initial credibility assessments on subsequent source credibility assessments and on belief change. Also, subsequent credibility assessments are expected to mediate effects of initial credibility assessments and message quality assessments on belief change. Reanalyses of experimental data (N=74) support the hypothesized direct effects and several proposed mediating relationships.
Black South African English: Where to from Here?.

Black South African English is generally regarded as the variety of English commonly used by mother-tongue speakers of South Africa's indigenous African languages in areas where English is not the language of the majority. This paper explores some of the problems involved in defining this variety, problems such as whether it is a ‘new’ variety of English or a dialect, and problems relating to whose English it is: the English of those learners who have encountered only a smattering of English in informal contexts or the variety of English acquired during formal schooling. The second half of the paper focuses on the possible future of Black South African English (BSAE) against the backdrop of South Africa's new multilingual policy. Reasons for the continued appeal of English are examined, alongside the range of factors influencing the possible future growth of BSAE as a distinct variety. It is argued that South Africans are unlikely ever to be free not to learn English, owing to the huge economic, political and ideological constraints which make the ‘choice’ of English inevitable. The success of current efforts to resist value judgements and recognise the worth of BSAE will depend not only on the goodwill of South Africans, and on the cooperation of all speakers of English, world-wide, but on the rate at which the variety drifts away from recognised standard forms of English.
Revisiting the Multicultural Experience–Creativity Link

A growing literature provides evidence for the multicultural experience–creativity link such that exposure to the juxtaposition of two cultures facilitates individual creativity. The underlying mechanisms for this relationship, however, are still far from being well explored. Drawing upon the novel perspective of motivated cognition, we hypothesize that two factors interact to affect creative outcomes: (a) perceived cultural distance between the two juxtaposed cultures, and (b) comparison mind-sets. Specifically, we argue that individuals’ creative performance will be increased only when a difference mind-set is employed to process the cultural stimuli that are sufficiently different from each other. In two studies, individuals exposed to dual cultural primes with higher levels of perceived cultural distance consistently performed more adeptly in creative insight tasks when they personally predisposed to or experimentally manipulated to adopt a difference (vs. similarity) mind-set. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
High-resolution microbial community reconstruction by integrating short reads from multiple 16S rRNA regions

The emergence of massively parallel sequencing technology has revolutionized microbial profiling, allowing the unprecedented comparison of microbial diversity across time and space in a wide range of host-associated and environmental ecosystems. Although the high-throughput nature of such methods enables the detection of low-frequency bacteria, these advances come at the cost of sequencing read length, limiting the phylogenetic resolution possible by current methods. Here, we present a generic approach for integrating short reads from large genomic regions, thus enabling phylogenetic resolution far exceeding current methods. The approach is based on a mapping to a statistical model that is later solved as a constrained optimization problem. We demonstrate the utility of this method by analyzing human saliva and Drosophila samples, using Illumina single-end sequencing of a 750 bp amplicon of the 16S rRNA gene. Phylogenetic resolution is significantly extended while reducing the number of falsely detected bacteria, as compared with standard single-region Roche 454 Pyrosequencing. Our approach can be seamlessly applied to simultaneous sequencing of multiple genes providing a higher resolution view of the composition and activity of complex microbial communities.