Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An introduction to ethnic conflict

Foreword. Chapter 1 Incidence and Scope of Ethnic Conflict. Chapter 2 Ethnic Sentiments and Solidarities. Chapter 3 Origins of Ethnic Pluralism. Chapter 4 For What do they Contend? Chapter 5 The Contemporary State and Outsider Intervention. Chapter 6 Patterns of Pluralism I -- Domination. Chapter 7 Patterns of Pluralism II -- Power--Sharing. Chapter 8 Patterns of Pluralism III -- Integration. Chapter 9 The Management of Ethnic Conflict. Chapter 10 What of the Future? Suggested Readings. Glossary. Notes. Index
Late outcomes of laparoscopic pyeloplasty: a single institution study with follow-up longer than 5 years

Introduction Although most urologists agree that failures after laparoscopic pyeloplasty occur usually within a year after the operation, late failures are also reported. Aim To assess late results of laparoscopic pyeloplasty. Material and methods Seventy-eight of ninety-five patients who had been operated on between November 2001 and September 2009 were notified about the possibility of diuretic renography (DR). Excluded from the study were 3 patients who failed within 1 year after surgery, 2 others with late recurrences at 1.5 and 2.5 years postoperatively, 8 patients who were lost to follow-up immediately after the operation, 2 patients with equivocal DR after pyeloplasty and 2 cases with open conversion. Twenty-six (33.3%) patients responded to the notification. Mean follow-up was 89 months. In all patients DR, ultrasound, serum creatinine concentration, estimatated glomerular filtration rate and the assessment of symptoms were carried out. Success was defined as T1/2 ≤ 12 min and improved or stable differential renal function on DR. Results Diuretic renography revealed no obstruction in 25/26 (96%) patients. One woman was not appropriately hydrated, which rendered the result of the investigation unreliable. Mean half time to tracer clearance was 6.74 min. Mean split renal function on the operated side was 44.62%. Mean pain strength according to the VAS scale was 1.54. Conclusions Our study seems to indicate that recurrence after laparoscopic pyeloplasty in the follow-up period longer than 5 years is very unlikely. However, until more data are available, patients should undergo long-term follow-up to receive the benefit of the operation.
Autonomous Agents and Multi-agent Systems Cross-layers Cascade in Multiplex Networks Cross-layers Cascade in Multiplex Networks

Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by The Author(s). This e-offprint is for personal use only and shall not be self-archived in electronic repositories. If you wish to self-archive your article, please use the accepted manuscript version for posting on your own website. You may further deposit the accepted manuscript version in any repository, provided it is only made publicly available 12 months after official publication or later and provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link is inserted to the published article on Springer's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The final publication is available at link.springer. com ". Abstract The study of information cascade in multiplex networks, where agents are connected by using multiple linking types, has received increasing attention. Compared with the cascade in simplex networks, a noticeable characteristic of the cascade in multiplex networks is that information may be spread between multiple layers. In this study, we focus on the cross-layers cascade, which helps clarify two opposing opinions about the information cascade in multiplex networks: multiplexity can speed up or slow down information cascade. The linear threshold model is generalized into multiplex networks as conjoint agents become active, if the influences of active neighbors in any layer reach a predefined threshold. The preconditions and reasons for the slowdown and speed-up phenomena are discussed using four representative case studies and theoretical analyses. Next, analytical results are validated by using extensive simulations in which the multiplex networks are generated by random, small-world and scale-free network models. It is found that the slowdown phenomenon emerges due to the obstruction of cross-layers cascade which connects the distributed shortest path in multiple layers and the inhibitory effect of negative influence. Conversely, extra short paths or rapid spreading in one additional layer can facilitate the cascade process in existing networks, respectively. Extensive simulations also show that multiplex networks consisting of different network models are more competent for the cascade process compared with multiplex networks generated by a single network model. In conclusion, the concept of cross-layers cascade may elucidate the additional study of information spreading in multiplex networks.
White Adipose Tissue Apolipoprotein C-I Secretion in Relation to Delayed Plasma Clearance of Dietary Fat in Humans

Objective—White adipose tissue (WAT) dysfunction is characterized by delayed clearance of dietary triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRL). We reported that apolipoprotein (apo) C-I, a transferable apolipoprotein that inhibits lipoprotein lipase activity when bound to TRL, was produced by a human adipocyte model. Thus, we aimed to determine whether increased WAT apoC-I secretion is related to delayed dietary fat clearance in humans. Methods and Results—After the ingestion of a 13C-triolein–labeled high-fat meal, postmenopausal obese women with high-fasting WAT apoC-I secretion (median >0.81 &mgr;mol/L per g/4 hours, n=9) had delayed postprandial plasma clearance of 13C-triglyceride and 13C-nonesterified fatty acids over 6 hours compared with controls. WAT apoC-I secretion over 4 hours correlated with fasting total and non–high-density lipoprotein apoC-I but not with high-density lipoprotein apoC-I and was the primary predictor of 4-hour postprandial increases in TRL apoC-I. Correction for TRL apoC-I eliminated the association of WAT apoC-I with 6-hour area under the curve of plasma 13C-triglyceride; correction for insulin sensitivity or inflammation did not. Finally, in addition to apoC-I, WAT secreted considerable amount of apoC-II, apoC-III, and apoE over 24 hours; however, only WAT apoC-I secretion was associated with 6-hour area under the curve of plasma 13C-triglyceride. Conclusion—Increased WAT apoC-I secretion in obese women is associated with delayed postprandial dietary fat clearance mediated by increased TRL apoC-I. Thus, we hypothesize that reducing WAT apoC-I secretion ameliorates WAT dysfunction and associated cardiometabolic risks in humans.
A computer model of normal conduction in the human atria.

Although considerable progress has been made in understanding the process of wavefront propagation and arrhythmogenesis in human atria, technical concerns and issues of patient safety have limited experimental investigations. The present work describes a finite volume-based computer model of human atrial activation and current flow to complement these studies. Unlike previous representations, the model is three-dimensional, incorporating both the left and right atria and the major muscle bundles of the atria, including the crista terminalis, pectinate muscles, limbus of the fossa ovalis, and Bachmann's bundle. The bundles are represented as anisotropic structures with fiber directions aligned with the bundle axes. Conductivities are assigned to the model to give realistic local conduction velocities within the bundles and bulk tissue. Results from simulations demonstrate the role of the bundles in a normal sinus rhythm and also reveal the patterns of activation in the septum, where experimental mapping has been extremely challenging. To validate the model, the simulated normal activation sequence and conduction velocities at various locations are compared with experimental observations and data. The model is also used to investigate paced activation, and a mechanism of the relative lengthening of left versus right stimulation is presented. Owing to both the realistic geometry and the bundle structures, the model can be used for further analysis of the normal activation sequence and to examine abnormal conduction, including flutter. The full text of this article is available at http://www.circresaha. org.
Vibrio tapetis, the Causative Agent of Brown Ring Disease, Forms Biofilms with Spherical Components

Vibrio tapetis is a marine bacterium causing Brown Ring Disease (BRD) in the Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum. V. tapetis biofilm formation remains unexplored depite the fact that it might be linked to pathogenicity. Our objectives were to characterize the in vitro biofilm formation of V. tapetis and evaluate the effects of culture conditions. Biofilm structure and its matrix composition were examined by confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. V. tapetis was able to form biofilms on a glass substratum within 24 h. Polysaccharides and extracellular DNA of the biofilm matrixes were differently distributed depending on the V. tapetis strains. Spherical components of about 1–2 μm diameter were found at the biofilm surface. They contain DNA, proteins, and seemed to be physically linked to bacteria and of cellular nature. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the spherical components were devoid of internal compartments. Temperatures >21°C inhibit BRD whereas low salinity (2%) favor it, none of the both conditions altered V. tapetis' ability to form biofilms in vitro. We suggest therefore that biofilm formation could play a role in the persistence of the pathogen in clam than in BRD symptoms.
Sport psychology : the key concepts

Psychology is an integral element of sport today, from the applied techniques of coaches and athletes, to the socio-psychological behaviour of sport fans. Sport and Exercise Psychology: The Key Concepts offers an introductory guide to the vocabulary of sport psychology, to its central theories and most important avenues of research, and to its application in sports performance. Modern and historical illustrations are used throughout the text, while an extensive bibliography and index ensure that the book is an indispensable research tool for any student of sport psychology.
A novel fragments-based tracking algorithm using mean shift

Multiple image fragments have been used to represent the target for tracking in a video sequence. It is proved to be able to maintain spatial information of the target. In this paper, following the idea that represents the target with multiple image fragments, we propose a framework that can efficiently combine multiple spatially distributed fragment histograms for robust tracking. The framework ranks the importance of each fragment adaptively, which can increase the robustness to partial occlusions and pose variation. We derive a mean shift type algorithm for the framework that allows efficient target tracking with very low computational overhead. Extensive experiments on challenging real video sequences clearly demonstrate the benefits of our tracker.
On-line Outliers Detection by Neural Network with Quantum Evolutionary Algorithm

This paper proposes a structure that combines neural networks and quantum evolutionary algorithm, called a neural network with quantum evolutionary algorithm (NN-QEA), for the establishment of a nonlinear map when data are subject to outliers. Neural networks have the advantage of powerful modeling ability. Quantum evolutionary algorithm has the characteristics of rapid convergence and good global search capability. NN-QEA combines the advantages of both and realizes the goal of modeling and outliers rejection simultaneously. The effectiveness and the applicability of NN-QEA are demonstrated by experimental results on the modeling of the compressor characteristic map.
From Acceptation Relations to Causality Ascription in a Belief Function Framework

From a generic set of uncertain pieces of information about the normal course of things and a temporal sequence of reported facts, an intelligent artifact should be able to identify causally related events and distinguish between factors that facilitate or justify the occurrence of events from other facts. In this paper, we propose a model for causality and facilitation ascriptions when the background knowledge on n-ary variables is represented under the belief function framework. In order to ascribe causality, an agent has to judge if an event is accepted or rejected. We propose different definitions of acceptance and rejection to specify the strength of the causal link in the context of n-ary variables. Even accepted, an event can be confirmed or attenuated which leads to different forms of causality ascriptions. This paper shows that our model can treat these cases in the framework of belief functions.
Lung function at one month of age as a risk factor for infant respiratory symptoms in a high risk population

Background: Abnormal premorbid lung function is a risk factor for subsequent wheezing in children with one or no atopic parent. This study was undertaken to establish whether early lung function in high risk infants (both parents atopic) was a risk factor for respiratory symptoms in infancy and to examine the influence of maternal asthma, smoking, and allergen exposure during pregnancy on any association. Methods: Infants were recruited from the NAC Manchester Asthma and Allergy Study cohort at birth. Partial forced expiratory flow volume technique under sedation was carried out to determine maximal flow at FRC (V′maxFRC). Children were followed prospectively and parents completed a standard respiratory questionnaire at one year of age. Results: Sixty nine term infants (34 boys; 88% mothers non-smokers; no household pets) underwent respiratory function testing. Size adjusted V′maxFRC was significantly lower in infants who had recurrent wheeze during the first year of life (mean 1.3 ml/s/cm, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.60) than in those who did not (mean 2.03 ml/s/cm, 95% CI 1.71 to 2.36; p=0.01). V′maxFRC was also significantly lower in infants who had recurrent cough symptoms. In multivariate regression analysis, when adjusted for age at test, sex, maternal asthma, smoking and maternal mattress Der 1 levels, a lower size adjusted V′maxFRC score remained strongly associated with wheezing (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.77, p=0.007). Maternal smoking also remained an independent risk factor (OR 29.85, 95% CI 2.46 to 362.5, p=0.008). Conclusion: Significantly diminished lung function was present in high risk infants who subsequently wheezed and coughed. This was independent of maternal exposure to mite allergen, asthma, and smoking during pregnancy.
Effect of oxygen on cyanide intoxication. V. Physiologic effects.

The prophylactic effects of air and oxygen either alone or in various combinations with sodium nitrite and/or sodium thiosulfate on various physiologic parameters were evaluated in dogs receiving sodium cyanide. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, central venous pressure, respiration rate, respiration depth, electrocardiogram, electroencephalogram and percent methemoglobin were the physiologic parameters examined. The results of air and oxygen were analyzed statistically employing the paired t test. There was a reduction in the length of electrical silence and a more rapid recovery of the normal electroencephalogram when oxygen was employed. Furthermore, sodium thiosulfate or sodium nitrite and sodium thiosulfate in combination with oxygen produced a similar electroencephalographic response. Although cyanide produces many other profound physiologic changes, under the conditions of our experimental design the differences between air and oxygen on these physiologic parameters were not statistically significant. The ability of oxygen to reverse cyanide-induced electrocardiographic alterations could not be supported.
Multi-person tracking based on vertical reference lines and dynamic visibility analysis

Multiple people tracking from multiple cameras can suffer from various problems, particularly from inter-person occlusions. This paper attempts to solve the problems by analyzing the view visibility and ranking the reliability of the cues from 2D views. It combines the visibility with the smoothness constraints into a probability framework, which offers a more flexible and robust estimation. Moreover, it introduces 3D reference lines to estimate the 2D position of every individual in the input images. These lines can estimate more accurate and robust 2D positions. The experimental results and quantitative evaluations on the standard data set show the effectiveness of the method.
Infinite words and nonstandard completions of finite pregroups

Let Λ be a discretly ordered abelian group. In that event the positive class N of the ordred abelian group Z embeds in the positve class Λ+ of Λ as an initial segment. If A is any nonempty set and λ is any positive element of Λ, then by an infinite word (of length λ) on the alphabet A is meant a function from the intial segment [1, λ] = {x ∈ Λ : 1 ≤ x ≤ λ} of Λ+ into A. A.G. Myasnikov suggested to the authors that they explore completions of pregroups P using infinite words. We show how this can be done if we take an excursion to a nonstandard extension ∗Z of Z and replace Λ with a subgroup Λ ≤ Λ ≤∗ Z convex in ∗Z. We restrict ourselves to finite pregroups P for, in the contrary case, we could have as entries in our Λ-words not 26 Anthony M. Gaglione, Seymour Lipschutz and Dennis Spellman only individual letters from P but also formal infinite products in the corresponding nonstndard extension ∗P of P . Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary 20E06, 03C03, 03H03
Functional annotation of human cytomegalovirus gene products: an update

Human cytomegalovirus is an opportunistic double-stranded DNA virus with one of the largest viral genomes known. The 235 kB genome is divided in a unique long (UL) and a unique short (US) region which are flanked by terminal and internal repeats. The expression of HCMV genes is highly complex and involves the production of protein coding transcripts, polyadenylated long non-coding RNAs, polyadenylated anti-sense transcripts and a variety of non-polyadenylated RNAs such as microRNAs. Although the function of many of these transcripts is unknown, they are suggested to play a direct or regulatory role in the delicately orchestrated processes that ensure HCMV replication and life-long persistence. This review focuses on annotating the complete viral genome based on three sources of information. First, previous reviews were used as a template for the functional keywords to ensure continuity; second, the Uniprot database was used to further enrich the functional database; and finally, the literature was manually curated for novel functions of HCMV gene products. Novel discoveries were discussed in light of the viral life cycle. This functional annotation highlights still poorly understood regions of the genome but more importantly it can give insight in functional clusters and/or may be helpful in the analysis of future transcriptomics and proteomics studies.
DESICCATION TOLERANCE IN DEVELOPING SEEDS

This review summarizes recent studies on the mechanisms and compounds taking part in acquisition and maintenance of desiccation tolerance of seeds. The role of ABA in regulating gene expression in either developmental or stress situation is discussed. Special attention is given to LEA proteins as protectors helping seeds to tolerate desiccation at maturity as well as following imbibition and germination. The physiological significance of desiccation in redirection of primary metabolism of seeds from development to germination is emphasized. Studies on the determination of the functions of ABA-regulated gene products and on the identification of genes that contain information of desiccation (dehydration) tolerance are also reviewed. This kind of information is essential for crop breeding purposes in order to improve stress tolerance or the productivity of crop plants under field conditions.
The Impact of Gaze Controlled Technology on Quality of Life

This chapter presents the process of introducing an eye tracking device to impaired users. It reports results from a gaze control user trial conducted with people for whom gaze control is a necessity due to their current condition or for whom it will soon become a necessity because of a progressive disease. Special attention is paid to the impact of this new communication method on their quality of life
One-loop unitarity of scalar field theories on Poincaré invariant commutative nonassociative spacetimes

We study scalar field theories on Poincare invariant commutative nonassociative spacetimes. We compute the one-loop self-energy diagrams in the ordinary path integral quantization scheme with Feynman's prescription, and find that the Cutkosky rule is satisfied. This property is in contrast with that of noncommutative field theory, since it is known that noncommutative field theory with space/time noncommutativity violates unitarity in the above standard scheme, and the quantization procedure will necessarily become complicated to obtain a sensible Poincare invariant noncommutative field theory. We point out a peculiar feature of the non-locality in our nonassociative field theories, which may explain the property of the unitarity distinct from noncommutative field theories. Thus commutative nonassociative field theories seem to contain physically interesting field theories on deformed spacetimes.
Group consensus and minority influence: Implications for innovation.

Notes on Contibutors.Acknowlegements. 1. Group Consensus and Minority Influence: Introduction and Overview. (Nanne K. De Vries and Carsten K.W. De Dreu)2. Afterthoughts on Afterimages: A Review of the Afterimage Paradigm in Majority and Minority Influence Research. (Robin Martin and Miles Hewstone)3. Mere Consensus Effects in Minority and Majority Influence. (Hans-Peter Erb and Gerd Bohner)4. Mediators of Minority Social Influence: Cognitive Processing Mechanisms Revealed Through a Persuasion Paradigm. (Gordon B. Moskowitz and Shelly Chaiken)5. Majority and Minority Influence: A Single Process Self-Categorization Analysis. (Barbara David and John C. Turner)6. Social Influence, Social Identity, and In-group Leniency. (William D. Crano)7. Self-Persuasion: An Alternative Paradigm for Investigating Majority and Minority Influence. (Ernestine Gordijn, Nanne K. De Vries and Tom Postmes)8. Conflicts and Social Influences in Hypothesis Testing. (Fabrizio Butera and Gabriel Mugny)9. The Impact of Shared Representations on Minority Influence in Freely Interacting Groups. (Christine M. Smith, R. Scott Tindale and Elizabeth M. Anderson)10. Is it What One Says or How One Says it? Style vs. Substance from an SDS Perspective. (Norbert L. Kerr)11. Minority Influence in Political Decision Making Groups. (John M. Levine and Juliet Kaar)12. Minority Influence in Organizations: Its Origins and Implications for Learning and Group performance. (Carsten K.W. De Dreu and Bianca Beersma)13. Culture and Minority Influence: Effects on Persuasion and Originality. (Yee Ng and Linn Van Dyne)Author Index.Subject Index.