Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Can the Changing Nature of Jobs Account for National Trends in Job Satisfaction

We investigate whether trends in job satisfaction, which arguably signal trends in worker well-being, can be explained by changes in the quality of jobs. There were falls in job satisfaction in both Britain and Germany. Elsewhere job satisfaction has been either stable or declining very slowly. In many countries, the series of data on job satisfaction is too short to be confident that any secular trend has taken place. We estimate fixed effects models of the determinants of job satisfaction, in order to attempt to account statistically for trends in job satisfaction in Britain and in Germany. We find that: The intensification of work effort and declining task discretion account for the fall in job satisfaction in Britain. The modest rise in participation in organisational decision-making only mitigated the downward pressure on job satisfaction to a small extent. Contrary to what might be expected from popular commentary, changing job insecurity does not explain the fall in job satisfaction in either country. In Germany there was a modest fall in the proportion of people working the number of hours that they wanted to. However, while working too few or too many hours is a significant source of job dissatisfaction, the changes were too small to have made much of an impact on job satisfaction in Germany. In Britain, the increasing proportions of over-educated workers have had a small downward impact on job satisfaction. The decline in job satisfaction between 1984 and 1998 in Germany remains a puzzle.
Downregulation of Dynamin-Related Protein 1 Contributes to Impaired Autophagic Flux and Angiogenic Function in Senescent Endothelial Cells

Objective—Recent studies have shown that altered mitochondrial dynamics impairs the function in senescent endothelial cells (ECs). However, the underlying molecular mechanism remains to be elucidated. Herein, we investigated the role and underlying mechanism of mitochondrial fission protein dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1) in vascular aging. Approach and Results—We found that DRP1 expression is decreased in senescent ECs, accompanied with long interconnected mitochondria and impaired angiogenic function. In addition, there was marked increase of autophagosomes but not of autolysosomes (assessed as punctate dual fluorescent mCherry-GFP (green fluorescent protein) tandem-tagged light chain 3 expression) in senescent ECs, indicating impaired autophagic flux. DRP1 knockdown or pharmacological inhibition in young ECs resulted in elongated mitochondria, suppressed autophagic flux, premature senescence, and impaired angiogenic function. In contrast, adenoviral-mediated overexpression of DRP1 in senescent ECs restored autophagic flux and improved angiogenic function. EC senescence was associated with the increase of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and antioxidant N-acetyl-cysteine restored autophagosome clearance and improved angiogenic function. Consistently, en face staining of old rat thoracic aorta revealed a decrease of DRP1 expression and increase of autophagosomes accumulation. Furthermore, in vivo knockdown of Drp1 in common carotid arteries significantly impaired the autophagosome clearance. Importantly, downregulation of Drp1 directly abrogated microvessels outgrowth from ex vivo aortic rings. Conclusions—These results suggest that loss of DRP1 during senescence exacerbates ECs dysfunction by increasing mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and subsequently inhibiting autophagic flux.
Food Allergies

The prevalence of food allergies in the inmate population is a relatively unknown and perhaps underreported health issue. An inmate with an undetected food allergy is at risk for anaphylaxis or less serious complications and is becoming an increasing concern to correctional facilities. Allergic responses to foods cause many symptoms, including cutaneous, gastrointestinal, respiratory, cardiovascular, and anaphylactic. These nonspecific symptoms are often first thought to be related to other conditions. Cell-mediated disorders, food intolerances, and pharmacologic conditions should be considered in the differential diagnosis and appropriately ruled out. The symptoms may mimic other problems, and allergic reactions would not be among the first conditions considered in the differential diagnosis. Consideration of food allergies and recognition of the symptoms should prompt a diagnostic evaluation. Not all correctional institutions have access to a dietitian or conduct allergy testing and the need to prepare special meals may create challenges.
Are gay men and lesbians discriminated against in the hiring process

This article presents the first field experiment on sexual orientation discrimination in the hiring process in the Swedish labor market. Job applications were sent to about 4000 employers in 10 different occupations in Sweden. Gender and sexual orientation were randomly assigned to applications. The results show that sexual orientation discrimination exists in the Swedish labor market. The discrimination against the gay male applicant and the lesbian applicant varied across different occupations and appears to be concentrated in the private sector. The results also show that the gay male applicant was discriminated against in typical male-dominated occupations, whereas the lesbian applicant was discriminated against in typical female-dominated occupations. Theoretical implications are discussed.
De l'efficacité des mesures de convergence pour préparer le passage aux IAS/IFRS en France

Ce papier a pour objet d'etudier la convergence du droit comptable francais vers les IAS/IFRS et la comparabilite des resultats obtenus selon les deux referentiels. Tout d'abord, nous avons essaye d'exposer les differentes strategies de normalisation en se basant sur deux criteres relatifs au degre d'intervention de l'Etat et des organismes professionnels du pays et au recours aux IAS/IFRS. Nous avons pu distinguer quatre strategies possibles ; une strategie de delegation de la normalisation a l'IASB, une strategie de convergence vers les IAS/IFRS, une strategie de delegation de la normalisation aux autres organismes de normalisation internationaux et une strategie d'auto-normalisation. Ensuite, nous avons essaye d'approfondir l'analyse de la strategie de convergence vers les IAS/IFRS a travers l'etude du cas de la France et plus particulierement de l'efficacite des mesures de convergence entreprises en France afin de preparer le passage aux IAS/IFRS en 2005. L'etude concerne un echantillon de 30 entreprises francaises cotees en bourse ayant publie leurs etats financiers selon les referentiels national et international en 2004 et 2005. Les resultats montrent que la comparabilite des resultats obtenus reste limitee surtout pour les petites entreprises.
Serum levels of urokinase-type plasminogen activator in healthy dogs and oncologic canine patients

Aim: Urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) has been scarcely studied in veterinary oncology. The aim of this study was to determine the uPA serum concentrations in healthy and oncologic canine patients and to investigate its potential value as a tumor biomarker. Materials and Methods: Serum uPA concentrations of healthy and oncologic canine patients were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Their relationships with the dogs’ health status and tumor characteristics were analyzed through ANOVA and independent t-test. Results: There were no significant differences between mean serum values (±standard deviation) of healthy dogs (0.19±0.13 ng/ml) and oncologic canine patients (0.22±0.33 ng/ml), or between dogs with benign or malignant tumors, and with or without metastases, although the latter tended to show higher uPA serum levels. Conclusion: This is the first study describing the uPA serum levels in dogs. Although its results do not support uPA as a tumor biomarker, higher uPA levels in dogs with metastatic neoplasms may reflect the role of the enzyme in tumor progression.
Manufacturing Layered Attenuators for Multiple Prescribed Shadow Images

We present a practical and inexpensive method for creating physical objects that cast different color shadow images when illuminated by prescribed lighting configurations. The input to our system is a number of lighting configurations and corresponding desired shadow images. Our approach computes attenuation masks, which are then printed on transparent materials and stacked to form a single multi‐layer attenuator. When illuminated with the input lighting configurations, this multi‐layer attenuator casts the prescribed color shadow images. Alternatively, our method can compute layers so that their permutations produce different prescribed shadow images under fixed lighting. Each multi‐layer attenuator is quick and inexpensive to produce, can generate multiple full‐color shadows, and can be designed to respond to different types of natural or synthetic lighting setups. We illustrate the effectiveness of our multi‐layer attenuators in simulation and in reality, with the sun as a light source.
Statistical relational learning for document mining

A major obstacle to fully integrated deployment of many data mining algorithms is the assumption that data sits in a single table, even though most real-world databases have complex relational structures. We propose an integrated approach to statistical modelling from relational databases. We structure the search space based on "refinement graphs", which are widely used in inductive logic programming for learning logic descriptions. The use of statistics allows us to extend the search space to include richer set of features, including many which are not Boolean. Search and model selection are integrated into a single process, allowing information criteria native to the statistical model, for example logistic regression, to make feature selection decisions in a step-wise manner. We present experimental results for the task of predicting where scientific papers will be published based on relational data taken from CiteSeer. Our approach results in classification accuracies superior to those achieved when using classical "flat" features. The resulting classifier can be used to recommend where to publish articles.
A genetic programming approach to distributed execution of data-intensive web service compositions

The executions of composite web services are typically co-ordinated by a centralized workflow engine. As a result, the centralized execution paradigm suffers from inefficient communication and a single point of failure. This is particularly problematic in the context of data-intensive processes. To that end, more distributed and flexible execution paradigms are required. In this paper, we present a genetic programming approach to partitioning a BPEL data-intensive process into a set of sub-processes which can be executed in a fully distributed manner. Meanwhile, the approach takes into account the communication latency and costs inside and across the partitions. The experimental results show that our proposed approach outperforms two existing methods for complex data-intensive processes.
Treatment of severe pertussis: a study of the safety and pharmacology of intravenous pertussis immunoglobulin.

BACKGROUND Pertussis in infants is often severe, resulting in complications and prolonged hospitalization. Treatment is limited to supportive care. Antibiotics do not significantly alter the course of the disease. Therapies directed at pertussis toxin, a major virulence factor of Bordetella pertussis, might be beneficial. This study examines the safety and pharmacology of intravenous pertussis immunoglobulin (P-IGIV), which has high levels of pertussis toxin antibodies. METHODS P-IGIV was prepared as a 4% IgG solution from the pooled plasma from donors immunized with inactivated pertussis toxoid. The IgG pertussis toxin antibody concentration of 733 microg/ml is >7-fold higher than contained in conventional intravenous immunoglobulin products. Children with presumptive pertussis were allocated to one of three treatment doses of P-IGIV. RESULTS Twenty-six of 30 enrolled children had confirmed pertussis. There were no adverse events associated with P-IGIV except one patient who had transient hypotension that responded to an infusion rate decrease. P-IGIV doses of 1500, 750 and 250 mg/kg achieved > or =4-fold, 3-fold and >2-fold rises in peak geometric mean titers of pertussis toxin IgG antibodies, respectively. P-IGIV exhibited a half-life of 38.4 days and a volume of distribution of 87.8 ml/kg. All three treatment groups showed declines in lymphocytosis (P < 0.05) and paroxysmal coughing by the third day after P-IGIV infusion compared with preinfusion values. CONCLUSION P-IGIV is safe and achieves high pertussis toxin antibody titers in infants. This study provides data for a prospective, controlled trial of P-IGIV.
Analysis of conjugate gradient algorithms for adaptive filtering

We describe and analyze two approaches to the implementation of the Conjugate Gradient algorithm for adaptive filtering. In particular their convergence rate and misadjustment are compared. A new analysis approach in the z-domain is used in order to find the asymptotic performance, and stability bounds are established. The behavior of the algorithms in finite word-length computation are described and dynamic range considerations are discussed. It is shown that, close to steady-state, the algorithms' behaviors are similar to the Steepest Descent algorithm, where the stalling phenomenon is also observed. Using 16-bit fixed-point number representation, our simulations show that the algorithms are numerically stable.
The Evolution and Variety of RFamide-Type Neuropeptides: Insights from Deuterostomian Invertebrates

Five families of neuropeptides that have a C-terminal RFamide motif have been identified in vertebrates: (1) gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH), (2) neuropeptide FF (NPFF), (3) pyroglutamylated RFamide peptide (QRFP), (4) prolactin-releasing peptide (PrRP), and (5) Kisspeptin. Experimental demonstration of neuropeptide–receptor pairings combined with comprehensive analysis of genomic and/or transcriptomic sequence data indicate that, with the exception of the deuterostomian PrRP system, the evolutionary origins of these neuropeptides can be traced back to the common ancestor of bilaterians. Here, we review the occurrence of homologs of vertebrate RFamide-type neuropeptides and their receptors in deuterostomian invertebrates – urochordates, cephalochordates, hemichordates, and echinoderms. Extending analysis of the occurrence of the RFamide motif in other bilaterian neuropeptide families reveals RFamide-type peptides that have acquired modified C-terminal characteristics in the vertebrate lineage (e.g., NPY/NPF), neuropeptide families where the RFamide motif is unique to protostomian members (e.g., CCK/sulfakinins), and RFamide-type peptides that have been lost in the vertebrate lineage (e.g., luqins). Furthermore, the RFamide motif is also a feature of neuropeptide families with a more restricted phylogenetic distribution (e.g., the prototypical FMRFamide-related neuropeptides in protostomes). Thus, the RFamide motif is both an ancient and a convergent feature of neuropeptides, with conservation, acquisition, or loss of this motif occurring in different branches of the animal kingdom.
Forecasting Manufacturing Output Growth Using Firm-Level Survey Data

Traditionally forecasts of macroeconomic aggregates are extracted from prospective qualitative survey data by relating official data on the aggregate to both the proportion of survey respondents who are "optimists" and the proportion who are "pessimists". But there is no reason to focus on these proportions to the exclusion of other possible means of aggregating and quantifying the underlying panel of respondent or firm-level survey responses. Accordingly in this paper we show how the panel of firm-level responses underlying these proportions can be exploited to derive forecasts of (aggregate) manufacturing output growth that do not lose information that may be contained in the pattern of individual responses. An application using firm-level prospective survey data from the Confederation of British Industry shows that the forecasts of manufacturing output growth derived using these "disaggregate" methods mark an improvement over the so-called "aggregate" methods based on use of the proportions data alone.
Fault-tolerant routing algorithms based on optimal path matrices

Presents a new concept - optimal path matrices (OPMs) - for fault-tolerant routing on hypercube multicomputers. OPMs stored on each node of a hypercube hold the fault information and indicate whether there is an optimal path from the node to a destination. Two fault-tolerant routing algorithms based on OPMs are proposed in order to maintain the matrices and to route messages from sources to destinations. One is a routing algorithm based on OPMs, which are filled with pre-collected information through information exchange between neighbors. It can easily establish a path for a message, and the length of the path is no greater than the Hamming distance between the source and the destination of the message plus two. The other routing algorithm is a modified depth-first search algorithm, which adopts a dynamic learning strategy to fill OPMs during normal message transmission and can find almost all the optimal paths. The memory overhead is n/sup 2/ words on each node of an n-dimensional hypercube.
A Comparison of the Self-Esteem between Boys Living with Single-Parent Mothers and Single-Parent Fathers

This study investigated the self-esteem of boys between the ages of 9 and 14 as related to the sex and adjustment of the custodial parent, the frequency of visitation of the noncustodial parent, the length of time the child lived in a single-parent home, and the quality of the relationship between the parents. Results revealed no significant difference in self-esteem between boys living with single-parent mothers and boys living with single-parent fathers. No significant correlations were found between self-esteem of boys, the length of time they lived in a single-parent home, and the quality of the parental relationship. The self-esteem of those boys who saw their absent-from-the-home parent once a month or more was significantly higher than the self-esteem of those boys who saw their absent-from-the-home parent less than once a month.
Self-Regulated Learning and Instructional Factors in the Scientific Inquiry of Scientifically Gifted Korean Middle School Students

This correlational study investigated the direct and indirect effects of instructional factors and motivational and cognitive components of self-regulated learning on scientific inquiry performance in a sample of scientifically gifted middle school students. A total of 166 students were selected from nine gifted classes in the public school system with after-school enrichment programs in Korea. Students responded to self-report measures of mastery-oriented learning goals, self-efficacy, self-regulatory strategy use, and inquiry activities in science class. Performance data were obtained from work on a scientific inquiry task. Results of a path analysis revealed that students' self-efficacy and perceived degree of inquiry activities in science class were the only factors directly influencing their scientific inquiry skills. Whereas open inquiry learning that allows for choices and decisions in students' inquiry procedure directly influenced use of self-regulatory strategies, the extent of inquiry activities directly influenced self-efficacy. Self-regulatory strategy use was not a significant predictor for scientific inquiry skills. Based on the results, implications for future science gifted education are discussed. Putting the Research to Use: This study, by incorporating instructional factors in the framework of self-regulated learning of gifted students, extended the previous research that had examined the relationships among the components of self-regulated learning in relation to achievement. Also, it explored such relationships in a much less studied area, science, and extended the scope of science achievement by including scientific inquiry skills as a criterion of academic performance. In general, it reveals that inquiry learning increases gifted students' scientific inquiry skills while open inquiry does not contribute much to this process and that the only learner characteristic influencing scientific inquiry skills is self-efficacy. For educators working with scientifically gifted students, this study urges them to plan open inquiry learning more systematically and make it accessible to students, by providing assistance and guidance with the inquiry process at the outset of learning and increasingly incorporating the open nature of inquiry. Motivational beliefs of gifted students in their abilities also need to be encouraged and fostered in the classroom.
Enhancement of neural synchronization in the anteroventral cochlear nucleus. I. Responses to tones at the characteristic frequency.

1. Encoding temporal features of the acoustic waveform is an important attribute of the auditory system. Auditory nerve (AN) fibers synchronize or phase-lock to low-frequency tones and transmit this temporal information to cells in the anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN). Phase-locking in the AVCN is usually reported to be similar to or weaker than in the AN. We studied phase-locking in axons of the trapezoid body (TB), which is the output tract of the AVCN, and found, to our surprise, that most TB axons exhibited enhanced synchronization compared with AN fibers. 2. Responses from axons in the TB of the cat were obtained with horseradish peroxidase (HRP)- or Neurobiotin-filled micropipettes or metal microelectrodes. A series of short tone bursts at increasing sound pressure level (SPL) was presented at the characteristic frequency (CF) of the fiber and phase-locking was quantified with the vector strength R at each SPL. For each fiber the maximum R value (Rmax) was then determined. 3. Low-frequency fibers in the TB showed very precise phase-locking: Rmax values could approach 0.99. For the majority of fibers (33/44, 75%) with CF < 700 Hz, Rmax was > or = 0.9 and therefore higher than is ever observed in the AN. We define such fibers as "high-sync. " Most of these fibers also entrained to the stimulus, i.e., they fired a precisely timed action potential to almost every stimulus cycle. Some fibers showed perfect entrainment, with maximum discharge rates equaling the stimulus frequency. 4. To exclude the possibility that stimulus paradigms or acoustic and recording equipment were the source of this enhancement, we obtained additional data on low-frequency AN fibers using the same experimental protocol as in our TB experiments. These AN data agree well with published reports. 5. The morphological class of some of the cells studied was identified on the basis of anatomic features revealed by intra-axonal injection of HRP or Neurobiotin. Labeled low-CF axons (N = 7), which were all high-sync, originated from AVCN bushy cells: five were globular and two were spherical bushy cell axons. 6. Spontaneous rate of high-sync fibers covered a range from 0 to 176 spikes/s but were biased toward low values (mean 16 spikes/s). Responses to broadband clicks and sinusoidally amplitude-modulated signals provided additional evidence of improved timing properties. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)