Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A real child in a virtual world: children's motives for participating in virtual gaming communities

There is a dearth of research on children’s motivations to participate in online gaming communities, despite their growing popularity, as well as the ethical concerns and debates associated with that. This study builds a theoretical framework explaining children’s motivations to participate in online gaming communities that integrates theories from a variety of disciplines including cyber psychology, consumer behavior, consumer socialization and developmental psychology. The framework is then examined with children between the ages of 8 to 12 years through two qualitative studies, one using group interviews and the other using individual in-depth interviews. The results suggest that gender has a strong impact on children’s motives to participate in online gaming communities as children’s primary motivations for play as well as the type of games that they play online are more gender specific than adults. The results further confirm that these children’s motives to participate in online gaming communities will be similar to adults as hypothesized. Academic implications are discussed and practical guidelines are provided for designing more child-friendly online gaming communities.
cis-acting sites in the transcript of the Bacillus subtilis trp operon regulate expression of the operon

Transcription of the trp operon of Bacillus subtilis is regulated by attenuation. A trpE'-'lacZ gene fusion preceded by the wild-type trp promoter-leader region was used to analyze regulation. Overproduction of the trp leader transcript in trans from a multicopy plasmid caused constitutive expression of the chromosomal trpE'-'lacZ fusion, presumably by titrating a negative regulatory factor encoded by the mtr locus. Subsegments of the trp leader region cloned onto the multicopy plasmid were examined for their abilities to elevate beta-galactosidase activity. An RNA segment spanning the portion of the leader transcript that forms the promoter-proximal strand of the proposed antiterminator structure was most active in this trans test. The data suggest that the mtr gene product, when activated by tryptophan, binds to this RNA segment and prevents formation of the antiterminator. In this manner, the trans-acting factor promotes formation of the RNA structure that causes transcription termination. Secondary-structure predictions for the leader segment of the trp operon transcript suggest that if the mtr factor bound this RNA segment in a nonterminated transcript, the ribosome-binding site for the first structural gene, trpE, could be sequestered in a stable RNA structure. We tested this possibility by comparing transcriptional and translational fusions containing the initial segments of the trp operon. Our findings suggest that the mtr product causes both transcription attenuation and inhibition of translation of trpE mRNA. Inhibition of translation initiation would reduce ribosome density on trpE mRNA, perhaps making it more labile. Consistent with this interpretation, the addition of tryptophan to mtr+ cultures increased the rate of trpE'-'lacZ mRNA decay.
A High-Gain mm-Wave Amplifier Design: An Analytical Approach to Power Gain Boosting

In this paper, a general embedding is proposed to boost the power gain of any device to the maximum achievable gain (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$G_{\max }$ </tex-math></inline-formula>), which is defined as the maximum theoretical gain of the device. Using a gain-plane based analysis, two linear-lossless-reciprocal embeddings are used to perform a movement from the coordinate of the transistor to the coordinate that corresponds to <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$G_{\max }$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. The proposed embedding is applied to a 10 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> common-source NMOS transistor, and the theoretical and simulation results are presented and compared. The properties of the embedded transistor are inspected, and the few issues in implementation are investigated and addressed. Finally, using the proposed general embedding, an amplifier is implemented in a 65 nm CMOS process with a measured power gain of 9.2 dB at 260 GHz, which is the highest frequency reported in any silicon-based amplifier.
Core Histones and HIRIP3, a Novel Histone-Binding Protein, Directly Interact with WD Repeat Protein HIRA

ABSTRACT The human HIRA gene has been named after Hir1p and Hir2p, two corepressors which together appear to act on chromatin structure to control gene transcription in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. HIRA homologs are expressed in a regulated fashion during mouse and chicken embryogenesis, and the human gene is a major candidate for the DiGeorge syndrome and related developmental disorders caused by a reduction to single dose of a fragment of chromosome 22q. Western blot analysis and double-immunofluorescence experiments using a specific antiserum revealed a primary nuclear localization of HIRA. Similar to Hir1p, HIRA contains seven amino-terminal WD repeats and probably functions as part of a multiprotein complex. HIRA and core histone H2B were found to physically interact in a yeast double-hybrid protein interaction trap, in GST pull-down assays, and in coimmunoprecipitation experiments performed from cellular extracts. In vitro, HIRA also interacted with core histone H4. H2B- and H4-binding domains were overlapping but distinguishable in the carboxy-terminal region of HIRA, and the region for HIRA interaction was mapped to the amino-terminal tail of H2B and the second α helix of H4. HIRIP3 (HIRA-interacting protein 3) is a novel gene product that was identified from its HIRA-binding properties in the yeast protein interaction trap. In vitro, HIRIP3 directly interacted with HIRA but also with core histones H2B and H3, suggesting that a HIRA-HIRIP3-containing complex could function in some aspects of chromatin and histone metabolism. Insufficient production of HIRA, which we report elsewhere interacts with homeodomain-containing DNA-binding factors during mammalian embryogenesis, could perturb the stoichiometric assembly of multimolecular complexes required for normal embryonic development.
An overview of tools for managing the corporate innovation portfolio

Many prior studies concentrated on how to manage single new product development projects rather than on how to manage the corporate or business unit level portfolio of innovation projects. However, the use of different tools and techniques for planning, analysing, and evaluating a firm's portfolio of ongoing innovation projects may help to reduce many firms' managerial difficulties in innovation management. On the basis of a thorough literature analysis, this paper discusses the particular characteristics and key goals of innovation portfolio management. In addition, it provides an overview of tools for managing innovation portfolios.
Women's participation in employment in Asia: a comparative analysis of China, India, Japan and South Korea

This study compares the patterns of women's employment in four major Asian economies: China, India, Japan and South Korea. It illuminates how the heterogeneous characteristics of political regimes, institutional arrangements and societal values are manifested in the employment system and human resources of each country. It also reveals the varying cultural, social and institutional forces that prevail, despite similar outcomes of women's employment. The contribution adds to existing knowledge of women's employment through the comparison of four major Asian countries which remains under-explored. It also contributes to the theoretical debates of gender and employment by adopting an interdisciplinary analytical framework that incorporates socio-cultural, politico-economic and institutional perspectives.
How habitat-modifying organisms structure the food web of two coastal ecosystems

The diversity and structure of ecosystems has been found to depend both on trophic interactions in food webs and on other species interactions such as habitat modification and mutualism that form non-trophic interaction networks. However, quantification of the dependencies between these two main interaction networks has remained elusive. In this study, we assessed how habitat-modifying organisms affect basic food web properties by conducting in-depth empirical investigations of two ecosystems: North American temperate fringing marshes and West African tropical seagrass meadows. Results reveal that habitat-modifying species, through non-trophic facilitation rather than their trophic role, enhance species richness across multiple trophic levels, increase the number of interactions per species (link density), but decrease the realized fraction of all possible links within the food web (connectance). Compared to the trophic role of the most highly connected species, we found this non-trophic effects to be more important for species richness and of more or similar importance for link density and connectance. Our findings demonstrate that food webs can be fundamentally shaped by interactions outside the trophic network, yet intrinsic to the species participating in it. Better integration of non-trophic interactions in food web analyses may therefore strongly contribute to their explanatory and predictive capacity.
Daily or intermittent budesonide in preschool children with recurrent wheezing.

BACKGROUND Daily inhaled glucocorticoids are recommended for young children at risk for asthma exacerbations, as indicated by a positive value on the modified asthma predictive index (API) and an exacerbation in the preceding year, but concern remains about daily adherence and effects on growth. We compared daily therapy with intermittent therapy. METHODS We studied 278 children between the ages of 12 and 53 months who had positive values on the modified API, recurrent wheezing episodes, and at least one exacerbation in the previous year but a low degree of impairment. Children were randomly assigned to receive a budesonide inhalation suspension for 1 year as either an intermittent high-dose regimen (1 mg twice daily for 7 days, starting early during a predefined respiratory tract illness) or a daily low-dose regimen (0.5 mg nightly) with corresponding placebos. The primary outcome was the frequency of exacerbations requiring oral glucocorticoid therapy. RESULTS The daily regimen of budesonide did not differ significantly from the intermittent regimen with respect to the frequency of exacerbations, with a rate per patient-year for the daily regimen of 0.97 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76 to 1.22) versus a rate of 0.95 (95% CI, 0.75 to 1.20) for the intermittent regimen (relative rate in the intermittent-regimen group, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.71 to 1.35; P=0.60). There were also no significant between-group differences in several other measures of asthma severity, including the time to the first exacerbation, or adverse events. The mean exposure to budesonide was 104 mg less with the intermittent regimen than with the daily regimen. CONCLUSIONS A daily low-dose regimen of budesonide was not superior to an intermittent high-dose regimen in reducing asthma exacerbations. Daily administration led to greater exposure to the drug at 1 year. (Funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and others; MIST ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00675584.).
A phase-shift resonant power system with novel plasma impedance measurement methodology for plasma cleaning applications

Plasma cleaning has been broadly applied to remove impurities and contaminants from flexible substrates. The equivalent resistance of a plasma load is a very important factor for power measurement. However, the conventional Lissajous figure method requires an external capacitor serially connected to the plasma load, which conducts the DC bias and leads to large measurement deviation. Moreover, conventional plasma cleaning power supplies adopt a high turns ratio but a low-efficiency transformer to drive the plasma load. This study proposes an accurate plasma impedance measurement methodology that does not require an external capacitor and applies it to a parallel resonant full-bridge inverter. A digital signal processor is used to derive the equivalent impedances and estimate the output power and efficiency of the plasma load to achieve constant power control for a plasma power supply system. Based on experimental results, the calculated efficiency is very close to measured efficiency. A prototype inverter under phase-shift control is found presenting efficiency of 88.1% at a full load of 3 kW and 81.5% at a light load of 1 kW respectively.
The Econometrics of Female Labor Supply and Children

This is a survey of applied econometric research on the effects of children on female labor supply. Reasons for interest in the topic, and a basic model and terminology, are reviewed. Concerns are raised about the possible endogeneity of child status variables, and about the instrumental variables approach for dealing with this problem. Alternative ways of conceptualizing and estimating child status effects are considered, together with selected empirical evidence. Relevant developments from the household demand literature are summarized. Basic issues of model choice are also discussed.
Power Generation Expansion Planning Model Towards Low-Carbon Economy and Its Application in China

Climate change poses a huge threat to human welfare. Hence, developing a low-carbon economy has become a prevailing and inevitable trend. Decarbonization of power generation, especially converting the current power mix into a low-carbon structure, will be a critical option for CO2 emission mitigation. In this paper, an integrated power generation expansion (PGE) planning model towards low-carbon economy is proposed, which properly integrates and formulates the impacts of various low-carbon factors on PGE models. In order to adapt to the characteristics of PGE models based on low-carbon scenario, a compromised modeling approach is presented, which reasonably decreases complexities of the model, while properly keeping the significant elements and maintaining moderate precision degree. In order to illustrate the proposed model and approach, a numerical case is studied based on the background of China's power sector, making decisions on the optimal PGE plans and revealing the prospects and potentials for CO2 emission reduction.
Polyvinylidene Fluoride Alters Inflammatory Responses by Activation-induced Cell Death in Macrophages

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are nanomaterials that have been employed in generating diverse materials. We previously reported that CNTs induce cell death in macrophages, possibly via asbestosis. Therefore, we generated CNT-attached polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), which is an established polymer in membrane technology, and then examined whether CNT-attached PVDF is immunologically safe for medical purposes compared to CNT alone. To test this, we treated RAW 264.7 murine macrophages (RAW cells) with CNT-attached PVDF and analyzed the production of nitric oxide (NO), a potent proinflammatory mediator, in these cells. RAW cells treated with CNT-attached PVDF showed reduced NO production in response to lipopolysaccharide. However, the same treatment also decreased the cell number suggesting that this treatment can alter the homeostasis of RAW cells. Although cell cycle of RAW cells was increased by PVDF treatment with or without CNTs, apoptosis was enhanced in these cells. Taken together, these results indicate that PVDF with or without CNTs modulates inflammatory responses possibly due to activation-induced cell death in macrophages.
Short-term effectiveness of intensive multidisciplinary rehabilitation for people with Parkinson's disease and their carers

Objective: To evaluate the short-term effectiveness of an intensive multidisciplinary rehabilitation programme for people with Parkinson's disease and their carers. Design: Observational, with assessments before and after intervention. Setting: An elderly care day unit in a district general hospital in south-east England. Subjects: One hundred and eighteen people with Parkinson's disease and no cognitive impairment, and their carers. Intervention: Participants attended the day hospital in groups of six patients with their carers for one day per week over six consecutive weeks. After assessment, they received individual treatment from a specialist team. Weekly group activities included relaxation and talks from experts. Outcome measures: Patients and carers were assessed for: health-related quality of life, psychological well-being, social services need, perceptions of the programme. Patients were additionally assessed for mobility, gait and speech. Carers were assessed for strain. Results: After treatment significant improvements were recorded in patients' mobility and gait (p < 0.05), speech (p < 0.001), depression (p = 0.029), health-related quality of life (p = 0.001). People with more advanced disease at baseline gained significantly more from treatment (p £ 0.04). Carers were less depressed and had higher health-related quality of life than patients at baseline (p < 0.001) and no improvements in these indicators were recorded after treatment. A high unmet need for social services was identified in 31% of participants, and 10% of carers were found in danger of being unable to continue caring. Participants reported knowledge gains and high levels of satisfaction with both individual therapies and group activities. Conclusions: This intensive co-ordinated programme provided immediate benefits to people with Parkinson's disease and their carers.
Combinations of diquat and carfentrazone-ethyl for control of floating aquatic plants

Flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus l.) is a rapidly spreading invasive aquatic plant in the northern United states. Introduced from eurasia, it grows as an emergent plant along shorelines and as a submersed plant in deeper water of lakes and rivers. Because submersed flowering rush grows in fluctuating water levels, management of this plant has been inconsistent and unpredictable. Two small-scale experiments were conducted to evaluate contact herbicide efficacy on the submersed form of flowering rush from two triploid populations, one from Minnesota and one from Idaho. In the first experiment, various concentrations and exposure times of diquat, endothall, and flumioxazin were applied to Minnesota flowering rush. In the second experiment, concentration–exposure time relationships were investigated for flumioxazin against Idaho flowering rush. One treatment of endothall was used to compare flumioxazin, a newly registered compound, with an older chemistry. Results of both experiments showed that contact herbicides are effective against flowering rush. although flumioxazin (200 μg ai l-1) did not significantly reduce shoot biomass for exposure periods of 12 or 24 h, concentrations of diquat (370 μg ai l-1) for exposure times of 6 and 12 h, and endothall (1500 and 3000 μg ai l-1) for exposure times of 12 and 24 h reduced shoot biomass of Minnesota submersed flowering rush by >70%; however, these treatments did not significantly impact root biomass. lateral rhizome buds, which serve as a source of annual reinfestation, were found in all treatments. Concentrations of flumioxazin (400 μg ai l-1) and endothall (3000 μg ai l-1 ) for exposure times of 24 h controlled Idaho submersed flowering rush by successfully reducing shoot and root biomass by >70%. application strategies for complete control of triploid flowering rush shoots and roots with contact herbicides may require repeat applications and/or combinations with each other and systemic herbicides. Further evaluation of herbicides for controlling triploid as well as diploid flowering rush is warranted.
Packaging Liquidity: Blind Auctions and Transaction Efficiencies

Abstract The costs of implementing investment strategies represent a significant drag on the performance of mutual funds and other institutional investors. It is the responsibility of institutional investors, and in the interests of the individual investors they represent, to seek market mechanisms that mitigate trading costs. We investigate an example of one such liquidity provision mechanism whereby liquidity demanders auction a set of trades as a package directly to potential liquidity providers. A critical feature of the auction is that the identities of the securities in the package are not revealed to the bidder. We demonstrate that this mechanism provides a transactions cost savings relative to more traditional trading mechanisms for the liquidity demander as well as an efficient way for liquidity suppliers to obtain order flow. We argue that the cost savings afforded this new mechanism are due to the potential for low cost crosses with the bidder's existing inventory positions and through the longer trading horizon, and superior trading ability, of the bidders. This research suggests that the ability to innovate via new liquidity provision mechanisms can provide market participants with transaction cost savings that cannot be easily duplicated on more traditional exchanges.
Ex-Dividend Returns and the Tax Reform Act of 1986

As previously recognized, the Tax Reform Act of 1986 reduced observed ex-day returns to stocks that do not attract dividend capture trading. However, by decreasing the top corporate tax rate, and decreasing the corporate dividend income deduction, the Act also reduced the return to dividend capture by U.S. corporations. The ex-day returns for stocks that had previously attracted corporate dividend capture should therefore increase. This prediction is consistent with evidence that ex-day returns increased after the Act was implemented, among low-transaction cost, high-dividend yield stocks and among low-risk, high-dividend yield stocks. Copyright 1997 by MIT Press.
Impact of financial leverage on dividend policy at Tehran Stock Exchange: A case study of food industry

This paper examines the relationship between dividend policy and financial leverage of 33 food companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange with 242 data ‚during the period 2003 to 2010. Dividend policy‚ vastly followed by the companies ‚was tested by applying the extend model of Linter (1956) with the debt ratio of the firm ‚the current year’s dividend yield as its independent variables and change in earnings as a dummy variable. At first‚ the descriptive statistics for our entire variables were calculated and then correlation matrix was calculated to identify the preliminary relationship among all the variables‚ followed by regression analysis on panel data to examine the significance and magnitude through fixed and random effects model. Theoretical assertion were justified through random effect model that the level of corporate debt (leverage) and widely practiced dividend policy ‚ significantly ‚ affect the dividend policy of the Iranian firms. The factors affecting dividend policy with respect of sources and uses of funds set why and how to select a particular source‚ according to requirements of the outside environment and also dominant phenomena within the company. In such circumstances‚ this current research has tried to focusing on financial performance of companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange and to examine the effects. This research aimed to explore the impact of financial leverage‚ dividend policy in food industry companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange Market. For this purpose‚ independent variables in debt ratio‚ stock returns and changes in food group income from stock are collected. Dividend per share is considered as only variable dividend policy that accounts for behavior of corporate managers in corporate financial decision. Food industry companies have positive effect on variables in dividend yield and changes income‚ but debt ratio has no meaningful relationship on dividend per share. It has only positive relationship‚ if the rate of debt ratio is less than dividend yield. When rate of debt ratio is more than dividend yield‚ it will have negative relationship. Key words: Dividend policy, leverage, earnings, dividend yield, corporate debt, Tehran Stock Exchange