Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hazardous Drinking and its Correlates Among Medical Students

A study of the drinking behaviour of medical students from 13 medical schools in the UK was conducted by means of a self-completion questionnaire. Data from 1277 students are presented here (response rate 67%). 23% of male students and 10% of female students reported drinking more than the recommended sensible limits in a typical week. There were significant differences in the drinking behaviour of female students in the different years of medical school. ‘Hazardous drinking’ is associated with the absence of religiosity, regular exercise, sensation seeking, extraversion and psychoticism. Epidemiological investigation into hazardous drinking should be supplemented by ethnographical investigation to determine the extent to which the phenomenon is culturally normal.
Large-Scale Differential Proteome Analysis in Plasmodium falciparum under Drug Treatment

Proteome studies contribute markedly to our understanding of parasite biology, host-parasite interactions, and mechanisms of drug action. For most antimalarial drugs neither mode of action nor mechanisms of resistance development are fully elucidated although this would be important prerequisites for successfully developing urgently required novel antimalarials. Here, we establish a large-scale quantitative proteomic approach to examine protein expression changes in trophozoite stages of the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum following chloroquine and artemisinin treatment. For this purpose SIL (stable isotope labeling) using 14N-isoleucine and 13C6,15N1-isoleucine was optimized to obtain 99% atomic percent enrichment. Proteome fractionation with anion exchange chromatography was used to reduce sample complexity and increase quantitative coverage of protein expression. Tryptic peptides of subfractions were subjected to SCX/RP separation, measured by LC-MS/MS and quantified using the novel software tool Census. In drug treated parasites, we identified a total number of 1,253 proteins, thus increasing the overall number of proteins identified in the trophozoite stage by 30%. A relative quantification was obtained for more than 800 proteins. Under artemisinin and chloroquine treatment 41 and 38 proteins respectively were upregulated (>1.5) whereas 14 and 8 proteins were down-regulated (<0.5). Apart from specifically regulated proteins we also identified sets of proteins which were regulated as a general response to drug treatment. The proteomic data was confirmed by Western blotting. The methodology described here allows for the efficient large-scale differential proteome analysis of P. falciparum to study the response to drug treatment or environmental changes. Only 100 µg of protein is required for the analysis suggesting that the method can also be transferred to other apicomplexan parasites.
Loop transformation methodology for fixed-rate video, image and telecom processing applications

Many real-time signal processing applications are dominated by iterative loop constructs which exhibit a large amount of parallelism. In general, a realisation matched to the required rate of these applications exploits only a relatively small part of the parallelism available in the algorithm. This paper addresses the important problem of selecting the appropriate algorithmic-level decisions, in particular loop manipulations and the like, to arrive at an area-optimized specification for use in register-transfer level synthesis tools. One of the crucial cost factors in this optimisation is memory storage related. An effective model and methodology are proposed to derive an optimized architecture with fully matched throughput, while avoiding a full traversal of the large search space. The effectiveness of our approach is substantiated with several realistic test cases. <<ETX>>
Dynamics of spin systems with randomly asymmetric bonds: Ising spins and Glauber dynamics.

The stochastic dynamics of randomly asymmetric fully connected Ising systems is studied. We solve analytically the particularly simple case of fully asymmetric systems. We calculate the relaxation time of the autocorrelation function and show that the system remains paramagnetic even at zero temperature (T=0). The ferromagnetic phase is only slightly affected by the asymmetry, and the paramagnetic-to-ferromagnetic phase transition is characterized by a critical slowing down similar to second-order transition in symmetric (fully connected) systems. Monte Carlo simulations of a fully connected Ising system with random asymmetric interactions, both at finite and zero temperature, are presented. For finite T the autocorrelation function decays completely to zero for all strengths of the asymmetry. The T=0 behavior is more complex. In the fully asymmetric case the system is ergodic, with decaying autocorrelations, in agreement with the theoretical predictions. In the partially asymmetric case all flows terminate at fixed points (i.e., states which are stable to single spin flips). However, the typical time that it takes to converge to a fixed point grows exponentially with the size of the system. This convergence time varies from sample to sample and has a log-normal distribution in large systems. On time scales which are smaller than the convergence time, the system behaves ``ergodically,'' and the autocorrelation function decays to zero, much like the finite-temperature case.
Complete Genome Sequence of Escherichia coli Phage vB_EcoM_Alf5

ABSTRACT Here, we announce the complete genome sequence of the Escherichia coli myophage vB_EcoM_Alf5 belonging to the genus Felixo1virus, whose members have not been comprehensively studied at the molecular level. Phage vB_EcoM_Alf5 infects E. coli K-12-derived laboratory strains and therefore is well suited for functional studies.
Cost-benefit of muscle cocontraction in protecting against spinal instability.

STUDY DESIGN Lifting dynamics and electromyographic activity were evaluated using a biomechanical model of spinal equilibrium and stability to assess cost-benefit effects of antagonistic muscle cocontraction on the risk of stability failure. OBJECTIVES To evaluate whether increased biomechanical stability associated with antagonistic cocontraction was capable of stabilizing the related increase in spinal load. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Antagonistic cocontraction contributes to improved spinal stability and increased spinal compression. For cocontraction to be considered beneficial, stability must increase more than spinal load. Otherwise, it may be possible for cocontraction to generate spinal loads that cannot be stabilized. METHODS A biomechanical model was developed to compute spinal load and stability from measured electromyography and motion dynamics. As 10 healthy men performed sagittal lifting tasks, trunk motion, reaction loads, and electromyographic activities of eight trunk muscles were recorded. Spinal load and stability were evaluated as a function of cocontraction and trunk flexion angle. Stability was quantified in terms of the maximum spinal load the system could stabilize. RESULTS Cocontraction was associated with a 12% to 18% increase in spinal compression and a 34% to 64% increase in stability. Spinal load and stability increased with trunk flexion. CONCLUSIONS Despite increases in spinal load that had to be stabilized, the margin between stability and spinal compression increased significantly with cocontraction. Antagonistic cocontraction was found to be most beneficial at low trunk moments typically observed in upright postures. Similarly, empirically measured antagonistic cocontraction was recruited less in high-moment conditions and more in low-moment conditions.
Advantages of Semantic Web Technologies Usage in the Multimedia Annotation and Retrieval

During the last few years, there was a large increase in various forms of multimedia content on the Web, which presents a growing problem for the further use and retrieval of such content. In parallel, with the increase of multimedia content on the Web existing multimedia metadata standards were improved and new standards have been developed. To facilitate the use of multimedia content on the Web, that content is assigned a metadata that describes it. Manually annotation is time- consuming and expensive process. Besides, annotations can be created by different people such as authors, editors, publishers or the end users, which represents a problem, because there may be different interpretations of those annotations. The main disadvantage of such annotations is the lack of well-defined syntax and semantics which is why computers in most cases can hardly process such information. Using Semantic Web technologies such as XML, RDF and ontologies is recommended for creating new and enriching existing annotations due to a large number of multimedia metadata formats and standards and their incompatibility.
Fen Maddelerini Anlama Testinin Psikometrik Niteliklerinin Belirlenmesi

This study aimed to develop Science Items Comprehension Test (SICT), which can be used for the purpose of measuring to what extent students can understand the written content involving 8th grade science items of SBS (national placement test), and determine its psychometric properties. In this survey study, 259 eighth grade students enrolled in elementary schools in Antalya constituted the participants. SICT was developed with thirty reading comprehension items with science items of SBS implemented in 2012 and 2013. Field experts’ opinions were asked and necessary corrections were made based on experts’ feedbacks. In order to determine psychometric properties of instrument, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were carried out with data collected from the research group. In accordance with factor analyses and results related to item discrimination, nine items were excluded from instrument, and the instrument took its final form with twenty one items. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that within the scope of single-factor structure, construct validity is high for target characteristics to be measured. In addition, reliability of scores acquired with SICT is high with regard to internal consistency.
Parent-teacher involvement and its relations to academic, social, and behavioral adjustments of Children in international marriages in Taiwan

The relations between families and schools are referred to as the mesosystem level of ecological system by Bronfenbrenner (1979). Close collaboration between parents and teachers has been advocated (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) because of its presumed positive impacts on children’s development. This study was intended to describe parent-teacher involvement of children from families with a Southeast Asian or Chinese spouse, and its relations to children’s adjustments. There were three major objectives. 1. To describe parent-teacher involvement of children from families with a Southeast Asian or Chinese spouse. 2. To identify child, family, and school factors associated with parent-teacher involvement. 3. To examine the relations between parent-teacher involvement and children’s adjustments. Questionnaire survey was used to collect data. Participants included children from families with a Southeast Asian or Chinese spouse, their parents, and their homeroom teachers from 15 elementary schools in Taichung city in Taiwan. Three hundred eighty-seven copies of questionnaires were sent to parents and teachers. Two hundred ninety-four valid parent questionnaires were returned, the return rate was 75%. Two hundred seventy valid teacher questionnaires were returned, the return rate was 69%. Instruments included Parent and Teacher Involvement Questionnaire (PTIQ-T; Miller-Johnson, Maumary-Gremaud, & Conduct Disorders Research Group,
IP / SOC 2005 Session : IP Design A Flexible , Low Power , High Performance DSP IP Core for Programmable Systems-on-Chip

1 Abstract – Recore Systems provides semiconductor IP solutions for programmable systems-on-chip. The coarse-grained reconfigurable technology of Recore promises to solve the flexibility, performance, power consumption and cost requirements of semiconductor businesses. In this paper, the Montium DSP core is introduced and an example is given of how this core can be used in programmable systems-on-chip.
Comparison of Alcian Blue, Trypan Blue, and Toluidine Blue for Visualization of the Primo Vascular System Floating in Lymph Ducts

The primo vascular system (PVS), floating in lymph ducts, was too transparent to be observed by using a stereomicroscope. It was only detectable with the aid of staining dyes, for instance, Alcian blue, which was injected into the lymph nodes. Some dyes were absorbed preferentially by the PVS than the lymph wall. It remains a standing problem to know what dyes are absorbed better by the PVS than the lymph walls. Such information would be useful to unravel the biochemical properties of the PVS that are badly in need for obtaining large amount of PVS specimens. In the current work we tried two other familiar dyes which were used in PVS research before. We found that Trypan blue and toluidine blue did not visualize the PVS. Trypan blue was cleared by the natural washing. Toluidine blue did not stain the PVS, but it did leave stained spots in the lymph wall and its surrounding tissues, and it leaked out of the lymph wall to stain surrounding connective tissues. These completely different behaviors of the three dyes were found for the first time in the current work and provide valuable information to elucidate the mechanism through which some special dyes stained the PVS preferentially compared to the lymphatic wall.
Getting Along without Omniscience: The Role of Networks in Inter- and Intra-Group Cooperation ∗

How does the peaceful coexistence of groups depend on internal characteristics of the groups? Tight-knit groups can use reputation mechanisms and decentralized punishment to keep members cooperating, but more loosely connected groups may be less able to implement such institutions. This paper seeks to fill a gap in the theoretical literature relating group structure to cooperation by zeroing in on the role that group structure plays in determining who is kept informed about whom. I present a game-theoretic model in which rational agents encounter in- and out-group members at random and gossip about their experiences according to a fixed communication network. The novel approach presented here makes the study of arbitrary group structures tractable for the first time, which opens the door to comparisons of social structures, of individuals within a social structure, and of potential improvements to a group’s cooperative prospects. In addition to these comparisons, I show that sometimes the best a group can do is tolerate small amounts of cheating. I also show when to expect raiding by the periphery versus bullying of the periphery versus feuding with fellow group members, and the options for inducing honesty.
Bias current optimization of Wurtzite-GaN DDR IMPATT diode for high power operation at THz frequencies

The properties and performance of DDR p + pnn + Wurtzite Gallium Nitride (Wz-GaN) Impatt diodes at Terahertz (THz) frequencies has been investigated for optimum bias current density through modeling and simulation technique. A double iterative computer method based on drift-diffusion model has been used to study the DC and small signal admittance properties of the device. The bias current density is optimized with respect to maximum conversion efficiency and device negative resistance at both 0.3 and 0.5 THz frequencies. The simulation studies show that these devices are potential sources for generating high RF power. The DC-to-RF conversion efficiency of the device is found to be 12.3% and 11.4% at 0.3 THz and 0.5 THz at the optimum bias current density of 2 x 10 7 A/m 2 and 1.8 x 10 8 A/m 2 respectively. The design results presented in this paper will be useful to realize experimentally Wz-GaN IMPATTs for Terahertz frequencies.
Natural variation in herbivore-induced volatiles in Arabidopsis thaliana

To study whether natural variation in Arabidopsis thaliana could be used to dissect the genetic basis of responses to herbivory in terms of induced volatile emissions, nine accessions were characterized upon herbivory by biting-chewing Pieris rapae caterpillars or after treatment with the phytohormone jasmonic acid (JA). Analysis of 73 compounds in the headspace showed quantitative differences in the emission rates of several individual compounds among the accessions. Moreover, variation in the emission of volatile compounds after JA treatment was reflected in the behaviour of the parasitoid Diadegma semiclausum when they were offered the headspace volatiles of several combinations of accessions in two-choice experiments. Accessions also differ in transcript levels of genes that are associated with the emission of plant volatiles. The genes BSMT1 and Cyp72A13 could be connected to the emission of methyl salicylate and (E,E)-4,8,12-trimethyltrideca-1,3,7,11-tetraene (TMTT), respectively. Overall, Arabidopsis showed interesting phenotypic variations with respect to the volatile blend emitted in response to herbivory that can be exploited to identify genes and alleles that underlie this important plant trait.
World-City-Entrepreneurialism: Globalist Imaginaries, Neoliberal Geographies, and the Production of New St Petersburg

Whilst St Petersburg is not usually considered as a command-and-control centre in the organisation of global capitalism—a key characterisation of world cities to some proponents—I reveal how Russian political elites have been inspired by a world-city vision for St Petersburg and have begun pursuing specific spatial strategies to accommodate this vision. In order to explain this experience, I attempt to establish a firmer conceptual link between ‘world city’, ‘urban entrepreneurialism’, and ‘state rescaling’ by articulating the concept of world-city-entrepreneurialiset. World cities are argued to be a political modus operandi and one possible layer in the multilayered and interrelated matrix of urban entrepreneurial strategies under neoliberalism. Four dimensions of world-city-entrepreneurialism are considered (with specific sociocultural reference to St Petersburg): (a) remaking the city as an international hub for circulatory capital and production, (b) making the city as a capital of corporate power, (c) reinventing the city character and tradition through globalist megaprojects, and (d) the role of central government. The evidence of emerging world-city-entrepreneurialism for St Petersburg is seen as part of the process of reorganising the principles of postsocialist spatial governance further away from the Soviet ‘scalar etiquette’ of administrative subordination and redistribution, and towards a neoliberal geoinstitutional regime of uneven accumulation.
Escherichia coli tol-pal Mutants Form Outer Membrane Vesicles

ABSTRACT Mutations in the tol-pal genes induce pleiotropic effects such as release of periplasmic proteins into the extracellular medium and hypersensitivity to drugs and detergents. Other outer membrane defective strains such as tolC, lpp, and rfa mutations are also altered in their outer membrane permeability. In this study, electron microscopy and Western blot analyses were used to show that strains with mutations in each of thetol-pal genes formed outer membrane vesicles after growth in standard liquid or solid media. This phenotype was not observed intolC and rfaD cells in the same conditions. AtolA deletion in three different Escherichia coli strains was shown to lead to elevated amounts of vesicles. These results, together with plasmid complementation experiments, indicated that the formation of vesicles resulted from the defect of any of the Tol-Pal proteins. The vesicles contained outer membrane trimeric porins correctly exposed at the cell surface. Pal outer membrane lipoprotein was also immunodetected in the vesicle fraction oftol strains. The results are discussed in view of the role of the Tol-Pal transenvelope proteins in maintaining outer membrane integrity by contributing to target or integrate newly synthesized components of this structure.
The Moderating Effects of Age on the Relationships of Self‐Compassion, Self‐Esteem, and Mental Health

This study investigated the interactive effects of self-compassion, self-esteem, and age on mental health. Numerous previous studies have found that self-compassion has a significant positive association with well-being but most of these studies were conducted with young adults represented by college students. This study extended the previous findings by comparing its distinctive functions in different age groups. A total of 1,813 adults whose age ranged from twenties to fifties (M = 39.28 years, SD = 11.27) completed a questionnaire measuring self-compassion, self-esteem, subjective well-being, and depression. The results of hierarchical regression analysis indicated that the positive relationship between self-compassion and subjective well-being was rendered stronger with older adults. In addition, self-compassion moderated the relationship between self-esteem and depression regardless of age. These results imply that self-compassion may be complimentary to self-esteem in improving mental health, especially for older adults.
Ginga: a self-adaptive query processing system

Adaptive query processing in wide area distributed systems has received significant attention due to the dynamics of the Internet. Ginga is a project currently ongoing at Georgia Institute of Technology aiming at studying the research issues in building a self-adaptive query processing system. We identify three important failure modes for executing queries on the Internet: network delays [1], memory shortage, and sudden unavailability of remote data servers. This extended abstract will give a brief overview of the design of Ginga system and illustrate the proposed adaptation framework using a network delay scenario as example. A query processing system is called adaptive if it has the following two characteristics. First, it collects information about its runtime environment and uses this information to determine its subsequent behavior. Second, this information collection and behavior revision process iterates over time, generating feedback loop between the runtime environment and the behavior of the system. For each query, information about its runtime environment may include statistics on the specific data sources accessed, the current state of the network at the time that such access is attempted, and the control information entered by the users. We call a query processing system self-adaptive if it satisfies the following two properties: (1) information and control feedback is collected or learned automatically by the system rather than provided through interaction with users, and (2) the system reacts to specified environment changes immediately upon receiving feedback. We use self-adaptive to characterize the Ginga system to distributed query processing. The Ginga query adaptation engine collects information about its runtime environment with high frequency and full automation, and reacts to any environment change of interest immediately. We argue that
Exploring the Fakes within Online Communication: A Grounded Theory Approach (Phase Two: Study Sample and Procedures)

This study in its second phase aimed at the analysing the fake profiling phenomenon among students with different age categories in schools in Jordan. Theory building is conceptualizing; and to begin with, demographical data are divided into actions, events, incidents and ideas by means of asking straightforward questions such as what, where, when and how much. Data are then given a representative name, and this procedure entails word-by-word, line-by-line and phrase-by-phrase analysis. Keywords: fake profiling, social networks, Methods and Procedures.