Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The advocacy coalition framework: revisions and relevance for Europe

ABSTRACT The advocacy coalition framework (ACF) has generated considerable interest among European policy scholars. This article summarizes some of the more important findings concerning, and changes to, the ACF since the last major revision in 1993. These include: (1) a much clearer model of the individual; (2) a clearer, more integrated concept of ‘policy subsystem;’ (3) much greater attention to the problematic nature of collective behavior among people who share policy beliefs; and (4) some suggestions concerning methods of ascertaining the existence and membership of advocacy coalitions. The article also briefly addresses the ACF's applicability to parliamentary systems, to the countries of Eastern Europe, and to the dynamic politics of the European Union.
Predictors of internet use for the professional development of teachers: an application of the theory of planned behaviour

This study examined teachers’ internet use behaviour for professional development using the theory of planned behaviour. Data for this study were collected via a survey of 221 teachers who completed self‐reported measures of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, intention, and behaviour. The planned behaviour model was specified and tested using structural equation modelling. The result of the study provides partial support for the adequacy of the theory of planned behaviour for predicting and understanding internet use behaviour for teachers’ professional development. There was a strong link between behavioural intention and internet use behaviour. Intention was predicted significantly by perceived behavioural control and attitude toward the behaviour.
Desensitization of membrane-bound Torpedo acetylcholine receptor by amine noncompetitive antagonists and aliphatic alcohols: studies of [3H]acetylcholine binding and 22Na+ ion fluxes.

Measurements of the kinetics of binding of [3H]acetylcholine ([3H]AcCh) to membrane-bound nicotinic AcCh receptors from Torpedo electric tissue have been used to characterize the effects of a series of amine and alcohol noncompetitive antagonists on receptor conformational equilibria. The receptor exists in multiple, interconvertible conformations distinguished by agonist binding affinity. In the absence of cholinergic ligands, certain aromatic amines including proadifen, dimethisoquin, and lidocaine, as well as propanol and butanol, produce a dose-dependent increase in the fraction of receptors (f) in a high-affinity conformation from a value of fmax approximately 0.17 in the absence of drug to fmax approximately 0.9. Not all noncompetitive antagonists produce that same value of fmax. For histrionicotoxin (HTX), fmax approximately 0.3, and the aromatic amine adiphenine did not alter f while tetracaine actually decreased f to 0.1. The high-affinity receptor conformation stabilized by noncompetitive antagonists was characterized by (1) the rate constant (krec) for receptor reisomerization upon removal of stabilizing ligand and (2) the rate constant (kdis) for dissociation of [3H]AcCh-receptor complexes. On the basis of these criteria, the high-affinity receptor conformation stabilized by amine and alcohol noncompetitive blockers is the same as that stabilized by agonist. At 4 degrees C, krec = (2.2 +/- 0.2) X 10(-3) s-1 and kdis = 4 X 10(-2) s-1. Since HTX and adiphenine produced only a small conformational perturbation, their effects on the actions of proadifen and 2-propanol were examined. HTX and adiphenine antagonized the conformational perturbation caused by proadifen, while mixtures of HTX and 2-propanol produced additive effects. Effects of noncompetitive blockers were also assayed in terms of the inhibition of agonist-induced efflux of 22Na+ from Torpedo vesicles. Exposure to proadifen in the absence of agonist produced a reversible inhibition (desensitization) of the flux response, and recovery from desensitization occurred at the same rate as the reisomerization from the high-affinity receptor state. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
A single-stage buck-boost three-level neutral-point-clamped inverter for the grid-tied photovoltaic power generation

This paper proposes a novel single-stage buck-boost three-Level NPC inverter for the grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) system, which can effectively solve the unbalanced operational conditions generally appeared between two coupled independent PV sources induced by the unequal irradiation and temperature distribution. The proposed control scheme can simultaneously guarantee the maximum power point (MPP) operation of both PV sources and maintain the output waveform quality. Matlab simulations are presented to show the performance of the proposed inverter.
Enkephalin antinociception in mice is mediated by delta 1- and delta 2-opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord, respectively.

Pharmacological evidence for the existence of delta-opioid receptor subtypes has been reported. This study was conducted to determine which type of delta-opioid receptors was involved supraspinally and spinally when antinociception was induced by the natural enkephalins, [Leu5]enkephalin and [Met5]enkephalin. In the mouse tail flick assay, the antinociceptive ED50 values of both intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) administered [Leu5]enkephalin and [Met5]enkephalin (together with the peptidase inhibitors, bestatin and thiorphan) were significantly increased by 7-benzylidenenaltrexone (BNTX), a selective delta 1-opioid receptor antagonist but not by naltriben, a selective delta 2-opioid receptor antagonist. On the other hand, when the enkephalins were administered intrathecally (i.t.), the antinociceptive ED50 values of both enkephalins were significantly raised by naltriben but not by BNTX. beta-Endorphin-induced (i.c.v.) antinociception was antagonized by naltriben administered i.t. or s.c. but not by BNTX administered i.t. or s.c. Different delta-opioid receptor subtypes appeared to be involved in supraspinal (delta 1) and spinal (delta 2) antinociception induced by endogenous delta-opioid receptor agonists, [Leu5] and [Met5]enkephalin. The antinociception produced by i.c. v. administered beta-endorphin has been attributed to the release of [Met5]enkephalin in the spinal cord and its antagonism by naltriben support the finding that enkephalins interact with delta 2-opioid receptors in the spinal cord to mediate antinociception. beta-Endorphin may be interacting at receptors other than delta 1- or delta 2-opioid receptors in the brain, perhaps the putative epsilon receptors, to mediate their effects because neither i.c. v. administered BNTX nor naltriben inhibited its activity.
Intra-Frame Transmission Adaptation for Fast Fading MIMO-OFDMA Systems

We propose multiple antenna transmission methods for fast fading channel conditions. Proposed methods allocate alternative multiple antenna transmission modes depending on the SNR, modulation order and Doppler frequency to increase reliability, i.e., decrease bit-error-rate (BER). A major difference of our approach from previous works is to allow different transmission modes during a single frame by considering the channel variations within the frame for high mobility scenarios. First method effectively makes use of available channel knowledge by allocating beamforming (BF) as long as channel knowledge is not outdated and switches to space frequency block coding (SFBC) afterwards. Approximate BER expressions for BF and SFBC that are functions of SNR, modulation order, Doppler frequency and initial channel knowledge are derived to be used as a decision metric for mode allocation throughout the frame. Second method adapts rate and transmission mode across symbols in a frame by considering that average channel power is monotonically decreasing as a function of time within the frame when multiuser diversity is exploited. First method performs as good as the better of BF and SFBC over all SNR values. Second method provides additional performance gain over the first method due to more efficient use of better channel conditions.
S100B Protein, A Damage-Associated Molecular Pattern Protein in the Brain and Heart, and Beyond

S100B belongs to a multigenic family of Ca2+-binding proteins of the EF-hand type and is expressed in high abundance in the brain. S100B interacts with target proteins within cells thereby altering their functions once secreted/released with the multiligand receptor RAGE. As an intracellular regulator, S100B affects protein phosphorylation, energy metabolism, the dynamics of cytoskeleton constituents (and hence, of cell shape and migration), Ca2+ homeostasis, and cell proliferation and differentiation. As an extracellular signal, at low, physiological concentrations, S100B protects neurons against apoptosis, stimulates neurite outgrowth and astrocyte proliferation, and negatively regulates astrocytic and microglial responses to neurotoxic agents, while at high doses S100B causes neuronal death and exhibits properties of a damage-associated molecular pattern protein. S100B also exerts effects outside the brain; as an intracellular regulator, S100B inhibits the postinfarction hypertrophic response in cardiomyocytes, while as an extracellular signal, (high) S100B causes cardiomyocyte death, activates endothelial cells, and stimulates vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation.
Audiovisual quality integration: Comparison of human-human and human-machine interaction scenarios of different interactivity

The quality of audio-visual services is largely influenced by the qualities of the auditory and the visual signals. Perception of both signals is integrated and a single audio-visual rating is formed. The integration function depends, however, on the type of application. In this paper, we compare different integration functions which have been determined from empirical data collected in human-human and human-machine scenarios with different degrees of interactivity. The results show that the impact of each modality depends on both, the type of scenario and its degree of interactivity.
Moving to London Time

This article calls for cross-disciplinary scrutiny of the costs of time squeeze – beyond current preoccupation with time allocation and the organization of employment. Discussion turns to an integrated, materially embedded infrastructure of everyday life, drawing on vignettes from in-depth biographies with London working families to put the time-squeeze into material context. Reference is made to generic decision ‘dilemmas’ commonly experienced across the sample: housing affordability, childcare shortage, transport failure and school choice. These illustrate the co-constitutive nature of urban inequalities and city time.
Comparative Study of Human and Mouse Postsynaptic Proteomes Finds High Compositional Conservation and Abundance Differences for Key Synaptic Proteins

Direct comparison of protein components from human and mouse excitatory synapses is important for determining the suitability of mice as models of human brain disease and to understand the evolution of the mammalian brain. The postsynaptic density is a highly complex set of proteins organized into molecular networks that play a central role in behavior and disease. We report the first direct comparison of the proteome of triplicate isolates of mouse and human cortical postsynaptic densities. The mouse postsynaptic density comprised 1556 proteins and the human one 1461. A large compositional overlap was observed; more than 70% of human postsynaptic density proteins were also observed in the mouse postsynaptic density. Quantitative analysis of postsynaptic density components in both species indicates a broadly similar profile of abundance but also shows that there is higher abundance variation between species than within species. Well known components of this synaptic structure are generally more abundant in the mouse postsynaptic density. Significant inter-species abundance differences exist in some families of key postsynaptic density proteins including glutamatergic neurotransmitter receptors and adaptor proteins. Furthermore, we have identified a closely interacting set of molecules enriched in the human postsynaptic density that could be involved in dendrite and spine structural plasticity. Understanding synapse proteome diversity within and between species will be important to further our understanding of brain complexity and disease.
A bacterial invasin induces macrophage apoptosis by binding directly to ICE.

Shigella, the etiological agent of dysentery, kills macrophages by inducing apoptosis. Deletion mutants in the invasion invasion plasmid antigen B (ipaB) of Shigella flexneri are not cytotoxic. Here, we localized IpaB to the cytoplasm of macrophages infected with S. flexneri. Purified IpaB induced apoptosis when microinjected into macrophages, indicating that IpaB is sufficient to induce apoptosis. Using a GST‐IpaB fusion protein as a ligand in affinity purification, we isolated four IpaB binding proteins from macrophages which were identified as the precursor and the mature polypeptides of interleukin‐1beta converting enzyme (ICE) or a highly homologous protease. We found that IpaB binds directly to ICE and this enzyme is activated during S. flexneri infection. Furthermore, specific inhibitors of ICE prevented Shigella‐induced apoptosis.
Head segmentation and head orientation in 3D space for pose estimation of multiple people

We present an algorithm for establishing head orientations of multiple persons in 3D space. Using multiple features from grayscale images (i.e., binary blobs, silhouette contours, and intensity distributions), our algorithm achieves foreground separation, head segmentation, and head-orientation classification, respectively. The information is then combined to form an integrated representation about how the heads of multiple persons are configured in 3D space in order to describe their relative position. The algorithm classifies each head orientation, ranging from 0 to 360 degrees of rotation on a horizontal plane, into eight classes by using a moment-based method. The algorithm can be easily extended to video sequences of image frames for describing how head poses change over time in relation to each person involved in a scene. Experimental results are presented and illustrated.
"Pseudowinging" of the scapula secondary to subscapular osteochondroma.

Although osteochondromas are the most common benign tumors of the scapula,’ it is not generally recognized that a patient with a subscapular osteochondroma can present to the clinician with scapular winging. The increased scapular prominence resulting from the subscapular mass may erroneously be attributed to paralysis of the serratus anterior muscle. An abnormal electromyogram of the serratus anterior, secondary to compression of the long thoracic nerve by the subscapular osteochondroma, may further complicate the diagnosis as illustrated by the following case.
The Dynamics of Backfilling: Solving the Mystery of Why Increased Inaccuracy May Help

Parallel job scheduling with backfilling requires users to provide runtime estimates, used by the scheduler to better pack the jobs. Studies of the impact of such estimates on performance have modeled them using a "badness factor" f ges 0 in an attempt to capture their inaccuracy (given a runtime r, the estimate is uniformly distributed in [r, (f + 1) middot r]). Surprisingly, inaccurate estimates (f > 0) yielded better performance than accurate ones (f = 0). We explain this by a "heel and toe" dynamics that, with f > 0, cause backfilling to approximate shortest-job first scheduling. We further find the effect of systematically increasing f is V-shaped: average wait time and slowdown initially drop, only to rise later on. This happens because higher fs create bigger "holes" in the schedule (longer jobs can backfill) and increase the randomness (more long jobs appear as short), thus overshadowing the initial heel-and-toe preference for shorter jobs. The bottom line is that artificial inaccuracy generated by multiplying (real or perfect) estimates by a factor is (1) just a scheduling technique that trades off fairness for performance, and is (2) ill-suited for studying the effect of real inaccuracy. Real estimates are modal (90% of the jobs use the same 20 estimates) and bounded by a maximum (usually the most popular estimate). Therefore, when performing an evaluation, "increased inaccuracy" should translate to increased modality. Unlike multiplying, this indeed worsens performance as one would intuitively expect
Upper primary boys' and girls' interests in science: have they changed since 1980?

Over the years concerns that many students have not been opting to study science further than required, and not progressing to scientific careers, have been partly related to low levels of interest and negative attitudes developed quite early in life. Of particular concern have been the differences observed between girls and boys, especially the negative attitudes of many girls to the physical sciences, where findings from many different international studies have been reasonably consistent. This paper reports on a 1997 study which repeated a 1980 survey of the attitudes of Year 7 South Australian primary school students. Given continuing approaches to improving science education, especially for girls, the aim was to discover whether the overall levels of interest, and the sex differences, detected in 1980 had changed in 1997. The results show that, while there have been some changes, these are not always in the desired direction. Some implications of the findings are discussed.
Patent services CRM with integrated docket system

Client Relationship Management (CRM) system is used to manage the services provided by a company to its customers. CRM is a multi-disciplinary concept. Its successful implementation involves many aspects. CRM systems have been developed for various fields such as sales management, product management etc., but has not evidently been adopted for providing patent services, where a person or a company manage their work related to patent services in an organized manner. Current companies providing patent services, have their own interfaces, which have few limitations. As a result, CRM system for patent servicing is developed where a separate database is maintained for each client, enabling to check previous works, review service being rendered, anytime and anywhere. And at the service provider end, CRM system helps organize work making it clutter free. Few of the patent services are time critical and are required to comply with legal procedures. Such patent services are further rendered using a docket system, complying with the legal patent procedures of the country to which the patent application belongs to. The docket system maintains a centralized calendar/rule engine and initiates actions as per applicable laws, rules and procedures of the target country. The generation of notifications that are sent to clients to remind them of pending actions towards the docket, is based upon a rule engine. Hence a CRM system with integrated docket system for patent procedures is a complete solution for all patent related services.
Elitist multiobjective nonlinear systems identification with insular evolution and diversity preservation

The paper suggests a customized elite based genetic programming technique for the identification of complex nonlinear systems. The models generated by the proposed method are nonlinear, linear in parameters, as the universal approximation capacities of such a mathematical formalism have been rigorously proven. To better exploit the models' parameter wise linearity, the authors propose a memetic approach that combines the stochastic structural transitions caused by enhanced genetic operators, with a deterministic parameter computation routine based on QR decomposition. This symbiosis assures a quasi simultaneous model structure and parameters selection and heightened search space exploration capabilities. To better fit the requirements of systems identification, the problem is formulated as a multiobjective optimization one, employing accuracy and parsimony assessment criteria. Two elitist evolutionary procedures have been implemented to obtain a solution, each featuring original contributions: the first one employs a dynamic clustering mechanism aimed at encouraging specific solutions of interest for the problem at hand, whilst the second is oriented towards maintaining population diversity by means of similarity analysis. The practical efficiency of the described methods is demonstrated relative to a multivariable test system with delayed inputs and a complex industrial plant.
Genome sequence and comparative microarray analysis of serotype M18 group A Streptococcus strains associated with acute rheumatic fever outbreaks

Acute rheumatic fever (ARF), a sequelae of group A Streptococcus (GAS) infection, is the most common cause of preventable childhood heart disease worldwide. The molecular basis of ARF and the subsequent rheumatic heart disease are poorly understood. Serotype M18 GAS strains have been associated for decades with ARF outbreaks in the U.S. As a first step toward gaining new insight into ARF pathogenesis, we sequenced the genome of strain MGAS8232, a serotype M18 organism isolated from a patient with ARF. The genome is a circular chromosome of 1,895,017 bp, and it shares 1.7 Mb of closely related genetic material with strain SF370 (a sequenced serotype M1 strain). Strain MGAS8232 has 178 ORFs absent in SF370. Phages, phage-like elements, and insertion sequences are the major sources of variation between the genomes. The genomes of strain MGAS8232 and SF370 encode many of the same proven or putative virulence factors. Importantly, strain MGAS8232 has genes encoding many additional secreted proteins involved in human–GAS interactions, including streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin A (scarlet fever toxin) and two uncharacterized pyrogenic exotoxin homologues, all phage-associated. DNA microarray analysis of 36 serotype M18 strains from diverse localities showed that most regions of variation were phages or phage-like elements. Two epidemics of ARF occurring 12 years apart in Salt Lake City, UT, were caused by serotype M18 strains that were genetically identical, or nearly so. Our analysis provides a critical foundation for accelerated research into ARF pathogenesis and a molecular framework to study the plasticity of GAS genomes.
A Virtual Approach to Teaching Safety Skills to Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Recent advancements in the development of hardware/software configurations for delivering virtual reality (VR) environments to individuals with disabilities have included approaches for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This article describes a study comparing benefits of using VR to benefits of an integrated/visual treatment model when teaching safety skills to children with ASD in a public school setting. Participants were 8 children diagnosed with ASD who were randomly assigned to receive either VR or an integrated/visual treatment model to learn fire and tornado safety skills. Both groups improved in their learning and transfer of safety skills. The VR group, however, learned these skills in considerably less time. Implications and suggestions for the use of VR in educational settings are presented.