Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The sigma 54 bacterial enhancer-binding protein family: mechanism of action and phylogenetic relationship of their functional domains

Because of their ability to stimulate gene expression from distant sites and regardless of their orientation, transcriptional enhancer elements are a puzzling class of regulatory DNA sequences (42). Although enhancers are a common feature of eukaryotic and viral genes, the mechanism by which they communicate with promoters and stimulate gene expression is still not very well understood. However, our understanding of the mechanism of gene activation at a distance has been boosted by the study of naturally occurring enhancer-like elements (ELE) in prokaryotes. The ELE are palindromic or nearly palindromic nucleotide sequences normally found between 100 and 200 bp upstream of a certain class of promoters, and, like the eukaryotic enhancers, they still stimulate transcription when moved thousands of nucleotides upstream or downstream from the transcription start and regardless of their orientation (7, 47). The extensive genetic characterization of many bacterial ELE and the development of defined in vitro transcription systems has greatly facilitated the study of activation by enhancers, and now some of the molecular details of distal activation are well established (34). It has been demonstrated that the ELE are binding sites for regulatory proteins named bacterial enhancer-binding proteins (EBPs). The best-studied EBPs are NtrC and NifA, which stimulate the expression of genes required for nitrogen assimilation and nitrogen fixation, respectively, in a number of organisms (37). These proteins activate genes transcribed by the RNA polymerase holoenzyme containing the alternative sigma factor &F4 (EO(J4). The u54 system is widely represented in the alpha and gamma proteobacteria (previously called purple bacteria), and it has also been reported to be present in Bacillus subtilis (13, 14). Among other physiological processes controlled by C54 are nitrogen assimilation and fixation, dicarboxylic acid transport, hydrogen oxidation, alginate utilization, degradation of aromatic compounds, pilus formation and formate utilization (for reviews, see references 35 and 56). A common feature of all these processes is that they are not absolutely required for cell survival, and each is activated by a different EBP interacting with a distinctive ELE nucleotide sequence. In addition to its ability to be activated at a distance, the Er54 system has several other unique characteristics that are not common among bacterial holoenzymes. E&'4 recognizes promoter DNA with unusually close boxes, centered at
Structural Minimality, CP and the initial state in second language acquisition

This article considers the current debate on the initial state of second language acquisition (L2) and presents critical empirical evidence from Hindi learners of English as an L2 that supports the claim that the CP (complementizer phase) is initially absent from the grammar of L2 learners. Contrary to the predictions of Full Transfer (Schwartz and Sprouse, 1994; 1996), the data we present suggest that L2 learners start out without a CP and then graduate to a stage where overt expressions of CP (complementizer phase) are in fact manifest. Although the lack of evidence of CP appears to support the Minimal Trees/Partial Transfer (MT/PT) hypothesis (Vainikka and Young-Scholten, 1996a; 1996b), we show that the MT/PT hypothesis also fails to honour all the empirical facts.To account for the patterns in our data, we propose Structural Minimality - that clausal projections are IPs - as a hypothesis on the initial state of L2 acquisition. We argue that the Structural Minimality hypothesis accounts for the entire array CP-acquisition facts in Hindi-speaking learners of English as an L2.
A Comparison of International and Domestic Tertiary Students in Australia

Abstract In this study international and domestic students were compared on variables such as accommodation and financial satisfaction, social support, mismatched expectations, academic stress, dysfunctional coping, and psychological distress. International and domestic students (N = 86 for each group), enrolled at a large Australian university based in a capital city, completed a battery of questionnaires. Results demonstrate that in comparison to domestic students, international students had less social support, used more dysfunctional coping strategies and had greater incongruence between their expectations and experiences of university life. The results endorse the significance of providing high quality supportive and orientation programs to international students, to enhance their social support and coping strategies, which, as demonstrated, are lacking.
Discussion on Distributed Genetic Algorithms for Designing Truss Structures

Distributed Genetic Algorithm (DGA) is one of optimization methods and very suitable to parallel computers. Therefore, DGA is a very effective tool in high performance computing. In this paper, we discussed DGAs for designing truss structures. Most of the real world problems in optimization problems have constraints. Since DGA is an algorithm for problems without constraints, the fitness function of DGA should be modified to handling constraints in problems with constraints. In this paper, we proposed a new method of handling constraints for DGAs. At the same time, the extended model of DGA called Environment Distributed GA (EDGA) is introduced. In EDGA, each island has the different environment and treats the different constraint in this paper. This setting keeps the diversity of the solutions and leads the good results. The proposed method is simulated for designing truss structure that is consisted of 640 design variables. Through the simulations, the followings were made clarified. The conventional handling method of the constraints of GAs cannot derive the solutions in GAs, since the feasible domain is very narrow. The proposed method operates effectively for designing truss structure. This tendency is applicable to also other problems.
Hypoxic and hypercapnic ventilatory responses during isoflurane sedation and anaesthesia in women

This study primarily examined the effect of three endtidal isoflurane concentrations (0.2, 1.0 and 1.4%) on the isocapnic hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR), as well as the hypercapnic ventilatory response (HCVR), in 18 women (ASA I) who were all in the follicular phase of their menstrual cycle. Capnography was used, together with pulseoximetry to indicate desired levels of hypoxia (SpO2 75–80%). This hypoxic challenge resulted, after 3–4 min, in a stable ventilation, and ventilation measurements were then taken during a 90 s period. The HCVR provocation (inhalation of 4.5% CO2 in air) and measurements were conducted using a similar time frame as for HVR. Isoflurane 0.2% did not affect any ventilatory parameter. Isoflurane 1.0 and 1.4% dose‐dependently increased endtidal CO2 and respiratory rate, while tidal volumes decreased. Minute ventilation was not reduced. HVR, as well as HCVR, were both uninfluenced by isoflurane 0.2%. HVR was reduced by 60–70% at isoflurane 1.4% (P<0.0l), and was parallelled by a similar depression of HCVR (P<0.01). The HVR during anaesthesia was accomplished by a respiratory rate response, while the increase in tidal volume, seen in the awake state, was abolished. The HCVR during anaesthesia was, on the other hand, the result of a dose‐dependently depressed tidal volume response, without any increase in respiratory rate. In conclusion, isoflurane 0.2% did not affect the ventilatory response to mild isocapnic hypoxia, nor to mild hypercapnic challenge. During anaesthesia with isoflurane (1.0 and 1.4%), there was a parallel reduction of HVR and HCVR.
Design of high-temperature SiC three-phase AC-DC converter for >100°C ambient temperature

High temperature (HT) converters have become more and more important in industrial applications where the converters will operate in a harsh environment. These environments require the converter to have not only high-temperature semiconductor devices (SiC, GaN) but also high-temperature control electronics. This paper describes a design process for a three-phase PWM rectifier. The SiC JFET planar structure is used for the main semiconductor devices. Other high-temperature components, including the passive components, silicon-on-insulator chips and the auxiliary components are studied and summarized. Finally, a 1.4 kW lab prototype is fabricated and tested for verification.
Bipolar permanent magnets for the treatment of chronic low back pain: a pilot study.

CONTEXT Chronic low back pain is one of the most prevalent and costly medical conditions in the United States. Permanent magnets have become a popular treatment for various musculoskeletal conditions, including low back pain, despite little scientific support for therapeutic benefit. OBJECTIVE To compare the effectiveness of 1 type of therapeutic magnet, a bipolar permanent magnet, with a matching placebo device for patients with chronic low back pain. DESIGN Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover pilot study conducted from February 1998 to May 1999. SETTING An ambulatory care physical medicine and rehabilitation clinic at a Veterans Affairs hospital. PATIENTS Nineteen men and 1 woman with stable low back pain of a mean of 19 years' duration, with no past use of magnet therapy for low back pain. Twenty patients were determined to provide 80% power in the study at P<. 05 to detect a difference of 2 points (the difference believed to be clinically significant) on a visual analog scale (VAS). INTERVENTIONS For each patient, real and sham bipolar permanent magnets were applied, on alternate weeks, for 6 hours per day, 3 days per week for 1 week, with a 1-week washout period between the 2 treatment weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Pretreatment and posttreatment pain intensity on a VAS; sensory and affective components of pain on the Pain Rating Index (PRI) of the McGill Pain Questionnaire; and range of motion (ROM) measurements of the lumbosacral spine, compared by real vs sham treatment. RESULTS Mean VAS scores declined by 0.49 (SD, 0.96) points for real magnet treatment and by 0.44 (SD, 1.4) points for sham treatment (P = .90). No statistically significant differences were noted in the effect between real and sham magnets with any of the other outcome measures (ROM, P = .66; PRI, P = .55). CONCLUSIONS Application of 1 variety of permanent magnet had no effect on our small group of subjects with chronic low back pain.
Focusing on pronouns: Consequences of subjecthood, pronominalisation, and contrastive focus

We report two visual-world eye-tracking experiments that investigated the effects of subjecthood, pronominalisation, and contrastive focus on the interpretation of pronouns in subsequent discourse. By probing the effects of these factors on real-time pronoun interpretation, we aim to contribute to our understanding of how topicality-related factors (subjecthood, givenness) interact with contrastive focus effects, and to investigate whether the seemingly mixed results obtained in prior work on topicality and focusing could be related to effects of subjecthood. Our results indicate that structural and semantic prominence (specifically, agentive subjects) influence pronoun interpretation even when separated from information-structural notions, and thus need to be taken into account when investigating topicality and focusing. We discuss how our results allow us to reconcile the distinct findings of prior studies. More generally, this research contributes to our understanding of how the language comprehension system integrates different kinds of information during real-time reference resolution.
Programmatic Access to Crowdsourced Human Computation for Designing and Enhancing Interlinking

Despite the growth of the number of LOD datasets and the increasing variety of covered topical domains, most of the links connecting RDF resources of different datasets are identity links (often between descriptions that match perfectly) and a high number of datasets still do not contain out-links. The creation of different types of links and the process of analyzing the Linked Data space for new interlinking possibilities is time-consuming and tedious. This paper describes a crowd-powered approach to knowledge integration, which aims at supporting data publishers in designing new interlinking processes, as well as validating and enhancing automatically computed links.
AN ANALYSIS OF SALIENT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BACKGROUND RISK FACTORS AND PRESENTING SYMPTOMS AMONG CLINICALLY REFERRED PRESCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN

The purpose of this study was to analyze the medical records of 167 children who attended an urban early intervention/partial hospitalization program in order to accomplish the following objectives: describe risk factor pervasiveness in the backgrounds of children attending the program; describe the prevalence and severity of externalizing behavior problems (non-compliance, aggression, tantrums) among the children; identify salient relationships between background risk factors and externalizing behavior problems; and test the cumulative risk premise which suggests that a significant, positive relationship exists between the number of risk factors a child is exposed to and the severity of his/her symptoms. Data was gathered from two items in the children's medical charts: 1) initial psychiatric evaluations, within which the presence or absence of the background risk factors of interest in this study are noted; and 2) monthly treatment plan progress notes, in which progress regarding presenting symptoms are noted. An analysis of medical record data painted a compelling picture regarding the pervasiveness of risk factors in the children's backgrounds, as nearly 80% of the children within the study were found to be exposed to three or more risk factors (not including poverty). An analysis of the data revealed a significantly high prevalence of children being referred for treatment due to clinically significant behavior problems, as approximately 80% of the children presented with clinically significant levels of non-compliance and/or aggression. Although clinically significant aggression and non-compliance frequently co-occurred with several background risk factors, no significant, positive correlations were discovered between background risk factors and externalizing behavior problems (when the entire sample was included within the analysis). In addition, a correlational analysis revealed no significant, positive correlations between the number of background risk factors and the severity of certain externalizing behavior problems. The absence of significant, positive correlations may reflect the need for researchers to attend to contextual details (i.e., severity of exposure, timing of exposure, individual traits) when investigating the effects of exposure to risk factors on children's development. In addition, it is likely that the correlations were partially weakened by the fact that the participants within this study represented a restricted sample (poor, clinically referred preschool-age children).
ANTIGENIC MODULATION

Antigenic modulation (the loss of TL antigens from TL+ cells exposed to TL antibody in the absence of lytic complement) has been demonstrated in vitro. An ascites leukemia, phenotype TL.1,2,3, which modulates rapidly and completely when incubated with TL antiserum in vitro, was selected for further study of the phenomenon. Over a wide range of TL antibody concentrations modulation at 37°C was detectable within 10 min and was complete within approximately 1 hr. The cells were initially sensitized to C' by their contact with antibody, thereafter losing this sensitivity to C' lysis together with their sensitivity to TL antibody and C' in the cytotoxic test. The capacity of the cells to undergo modulation was abolished by actinomycin D and by iodoacetamide, and by reducing the temperature of incubation to 0°C. Thus modulation apparently is an active cellular process. Antigens TL. 1,2, and 3 are all modulated by anti-TL.1,3 serum and by anti-TL.3 serum. This modulation affects all three TL components together, even when antibody to one or two of them is lacking. aAnti-TL.2 serum does not induce modulation and in fact impairs modulation by the other TL antibodies. The influence of the TL phenotype of cells upon the demonstrable content of H-2 (D region) isoantigen, first shown in cells modulated in vivo, has been observed with cells modulated in vitro. Cells undergoing modulation show a progressive increase in H-2 (D region) antigen over a period of 4 hr, with no change in H-2 antigens of the K region. Restoration of the TL+ phenotype of modulated cells after removal of antibody is less rapid than TL+ → TL- modulation and may require several cell divisions.
Paternally Derived Twinning: A Two Century Examination of Records of One Scottish Name

Abstract Paternal influence on twinning was investigated through a study of all the state and church records of Scotland for the period 1800–2000 (nine generations) in relation to one Scottish patronymic — in total 50,000 births. All recorded twins born with the chosen patronymic were identified and their whole paternal ascent and descent on the male line were charted for twins. There were established three pedigrees A, B and C manifesting clear paternal twinning hereditary transmission. Detailed familial reproduction patterns were traced for pedigree A, including phenotypic identification of twin zygosity in relation to seven same sexed pairs of twins in the pedigree and one same sexed pair out of dizygotic triplets. It is the most comprehensive description to date of such a kind of twin familial trait. The data presented show (i) the unique feature of clear direct paternal influence on twinning in three families; (ii) paternal factor(s) determination in both DZ and MZ twinning; and (iii) a definite association of twinning tendency with a partial male infertility, which corresponds to the prediction of the Infertility/Twinning Paternally Dependent syndrome hypothesis. The hypothesis of a founder effect explaining the similarity of A, B, C families and the possible localisation of the paternally dependent twinning factor on the Y-chromosome are currently under molecular investigation.
Recurrent chromosomal imbalances and structurally abnormal breakpoints within complex karyotypes of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour and malignant triton tumour: a cytogenetic and molecular cytogenetic study

Background: Cytogenetic studies of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumours (MPNSTs) and malignant triton tumours (MTTs) are rare. Aims: To undertake cytogenetic analysis of these tumours. Methods: Conventional cytogenetic analysis of 21 MPNSTs and MTTs from 17 patients (nine with peripheral neurofibromatosis (NF1)) was carried out using standard culture and harvesting procedures. For a more precise identification of composite structural rearrangements and marker chromosomes, spectral karyotypic analysis (SKY) was applied to a subset of cases. In addition, EGFR gene copy number was assessed by fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) analysis in a subset of cases. Results: Cytogenetic analysis revealed predominantly complex karyotypes. SKY analysis was useful in further defining many structural anomalies. Structural aberrations most frequently involved chromosomal bands or regions 1p31–36, 4q28–35, 7p22, 11q22–23, 19q13, 20q13, and 22q11–13. Overall, loss of chromosomal material was much more common than gain. Loss of chromosomes or chromosomal regions 1p36 (48%), 3p21–pter (52%), 9p23–pter (57%), 10 (48%), 11q23–qter (48%), 16/16q24 (62%), 17(43%), and 22/22q (48%), and gains of 7/7q (29%) and 8/8q (29%) were most prominent. These gains and losses were distributed equally between MPNST and MTT, demonstrating that these entities are similar with respect to recurrent genomic imbalances. Similarly, none of the recurrent chromosomal breakpoints or imbalances was restricted to either NF1 associated or sporadic MPNSTs. FISH analysis was negative for amplification. Conclusions: These cytogenetic and molecular cytogenetic findings expand the knowledge of chromosomal alterations in MPNST and MTT, and point to possible recurring regions of interest.
A construção dos fatos científicos e a existência dos vetores de doenças

The article analyses the difference between the construction of scientific discourse and objects of science. For such, two studies are used as parameters for epistemological reflection. The first is the work of Latour and Woolgar (1997) which defends the thesis of the socially constructed nature of scientific facts. The second is the work of Delaporte (1999) that analyses the conditions which made the characterization of Chagas disease possible. The article uses the fundamental question of how to deal with unknown (or not yet scientifically constructed) objects and phenomena, such as certain types of organisms or "non-human" beings, which place us in real situations, such as "life or death," to highlight the limits of the constructionist approach.
Theme-based Group Teaching of College Oral English: Endorsed by Students in Chinese EFL Context

In this study the author tries to assess the effects of Theme-based Oral Approach (TOA) on the oral English proficiency of non-English majors as well as students’ leaning motives and interests resulted from the approach in EFL class of China. The study follows the quantitative and qualitative method in light of questionnaire, interview, class observation with the causal-comparative study between treatment group and control group. The result shows that a majority of students with TOA improved their oral English learning more than those with Traditional Teaching Method (TTM). It also finds that TOA is able to motivate the students to speak in class and a certain percentage of students can overcome their psychological problems in expressing ideas. The findings are that TOA affects students’ achievement in a favorable way which provides some theoretical, methodological and practical implications.
The disciplines of education in the UK: between the ghost and the shadow

Forty years ago, sociology, psychology, philosophy and history had a secure position in the academic study of education in the UK but that is no longer the case. The policy context that has increasingly come to influence our teaching and the funding of our research, with its pressure on the production of knowledge which stresses use value, has, we argue, increasingly marginalised the potential of disciplinary contributions to the study of education. In this introductory paper to this special issue, we begin by examining competing definitions of what a discipline actually is and then chart the rise and fall of the influence of the different disciplines in education over the last 40 years. Following Barnet (1990), we do that through examining both their ‘sociological’ undermining (changes in their mechanisms and sites of production) and their ‘epistemological’ undermining with the growing public and self doubt about their contribution. The result, we suggest, is that now we have a large number of professionals working together but, when compared with other social science disciplines, lacking in intellectual autonomy and coherence. But, we ask, does that matter? Do sociology, psychology, philosophy and history—and indeed the whole range of disciplinary based perspectives—economics, geography—have anything to offer research, scholarship and university teaching in education now and in the future? We suggest that this is the challenge that the disciplines of education now face in the UK and it is the challenge we posed to the contributors to this special issue of the Oxford Review of Education.