Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mapping eParticipation Research: Four Central Challenges

The emerging research area of eParticipation can be characterized as the study of technologyfacilitated citizen participation in (democratic) deliberation and decision-making. Using conventional literature study techniques, we identify 105 articles that are considered to be highly relevant to eParticipation. We develop a definitional schema that suggests different ways of understanding an emerging socio-technical research area and use this schema to map the research contributions identified. This allows us make an initial sketch of the scientific character of the area and its central concerns, theories, and methods. We extend the analysis to define four central research challenges for the field: understanding technology and participation; the strategic challenge; the design challenge; and the evaluation challenge. This article thus contributes to a developing account of eParticipation, which will help future researchers both to navigate the research area and to focus their research agendas.
Clinical Intelligence

Clinical intelligence is an emerging field in healthcare that will change nursing practice, driving clinical outcomes and operational efficiencies. Clinical intelligence is essential to healthcare organizations in fully realizing the value of the growing amount of data being generated through electronic health records and other clinical information systems. This article discusses the asset of clinical data, the multiple roles of nurses in maximizing the value of this asset, and a vision for nursing’s future in regards to clinical intelligence.
Preliminary Report on the Use of High-Fidelity Simulation in the Training of Study Coordinators Conducting a Clinical Research Protocol

Training of health care research personnel is acritical component of quality assurance in clinical trials. Interactivity (such as simulation) is desirable compared with traditional methods of teaching. We hypothesized that the addition of an interactive simulation exercise to standard training methods would increase the confidence of study coordinators. A simulation exercise was developed to replicate a complex clinical trial. Eighteen study coordinators completed pre- and postexercise confidence questionnaires. Questions were targeted at key trial components using a 0–10 scale (not confident to confident) and were categorized using Bloom’s Taxonomy. The primary analysis compared overall mean pre-and postexercise responses. Secondary analyses assessed affective, psychomotor, and cognitive confidence. Significance was at P < 0.05. A significant increase in overall confidence (8.64 versus 5.77; P < 0.0001) was reproduced in the subcategory analyses (affective, 8.24 versus 4.89; P < 0.0001; cognitive, 8.75 versus 6.42; P = 0.0003; psychomotor, 8.63 versus 5.26; P < 0.0001). A high level of internal consistency and reliability in question responses within domains was observed, validating the questionnaire tool. In this preliminary report, we confirmed that addition of a simulation exercise to the training of study coordinators resulted in increased confidence. Simulation exercises should be considered when training study coordinators for clinical research trials.
An integrated tactile/shear feedback array for stimulation of finger mechanoreceptor

VR and telepresence applications have placed increasing demands on the need for effective user interfaces. To date most of the interfaces have emphasised the use of visual and audio effects but tactile feedback has been identified as a leading feature for future systems where there will be an increased desire to truly interact with the virtual/remote world rather than being observational. The paper focuses on the cutaneous aspects of tactile feedback describing the design and construction of pneumatically powered tactile and shear feedback modules. It is shown that by incorporating a range of novel features into this design it is possible to stimulate all the mechano-receptive nerves (SAI, SAII, RAI, and RAII) with localised signals from DC to 400 Hz. All this is shown in a fully integrated, ultra-light and comfortable package. The design control and performance results are all presented.
Manager: Fear of Trying - The Plight of Rookie Project Managers

Most software engineers do not want the hassle of project management. Poor project management is the number one cause of software project failure. How do we grow good project managers? What do we teach the rookies who have just been appointed to lead their first software project? Regardless of the training or mentoring approach you use, I suggest focusing on four major attributes, which I describe in their order of importance: communication, negotiation, organization and facilitation.
Plasma catecholamines during behavioral treatments for Raynaud's disease.

&NA; We have previously demonstrated that the vasospastic attacks of Raynaud's disease can be induced despite blockade of efferent digital nerves and that feedback‐induced vasodilation is mediated through a non‐neural, beta‐adrenergic mechanism. Here, we sought to determine the role of sympathetic activity, as measured by plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine, during finger temperature feedback and autogenic training. Thirty‐one female patients with idiopathic Raynaud's disease were randomly assigned to receive finger temperature feedback or autogenic training over 28 days. Half of each group began and finished training during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, the other half during the luteal phase. During training, significant temperature elevations were shown by feedback patients but not by autogenic patients. There were no significant effects for norepinephrine and epinephrine for either group. Cycle phase did not interact with training effects or with catecholamines. These findings do not support the role of decreased sympathetic activation in behavioral treatments for Raynaud's disease.
CHAPTER 15 Sphingosine 1-Phosphate ( S 1 P ) Signaling and the Vasculature

Discovered more than 100 years ago, the bioactive sphingolipid metabolite sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) was long believed to act as an intracellular second messenger, modulating many biological processes, including calcium mobilization, cell growth, differentiation, survival, motility, and cytoskeleton organization (1). The discovery that a protein whose expression was upregulated during endothelial cell differentiation and angiogenesis was a highaffinity receptor for S1P significantly accelerated research on this lipid (2, 3). This receptor, initially termed endothelial differentiation gene-1 (EDG-1) belongs to the family of G protein-coupled receptors with seven transmembrane domains, and its identification has led to the discovery of four other receptors for S1P. In keeping with nomenclature recommendations of the International Union of Pharmacology, S1P receptors are now referred to as S1Pn, with n = 1–5 (4). The fact that the first receptor identified for S1P is highly expressed in the endothelium, taken together with the finding that blood plasma contains large amounts of S1P (5, 6), suggests that S1P is likely to play a major role in vascular functions. Indeed, a survey of PubMed-indexed articles shows that nearly a third of the S1P-related literature deals with the vasculature. After a section on S1P synthesis and release in the vasculature, this review will therefore examine the functions of S1P receptors in endothelium and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), and their role in the regulation of angiogenesis, vascular permeability, inflammation, and tone. Because only three of the five S1P receptor subtypes (S1P1, S1P2, and S1P3), are expressed in vascular tissue, whereas expression of the S1P4 and S1P5 receptors are largely confined to cells of the immune and nervous systems, this chapter will mainly deal with the former three subtypes.
Quantum circuits with uniformly controlled one-qubit gates (7 pages)

Uniformly controlled one-qubit gates are quantum gates which can be represented as direct sums of two-dimensional unitary operators acting on a single qubit. We present a quantum gate array which implements any n-qubit gate of this type using at most 2{sup n-1}-1 controlled-NOT gates, 2{sup n-1} one-qubit gates, and a single diagonal n-qubit gate. To illustrate the versatility of these gates we then apply them to the decomposition of a general n-qubit gate and a state preparation procedure. Moreover, we study their implementation using only nearest-neighbor gates. We give upper bounds for the one-qubit and controlled-NOT gate counts for all the aforementioned applications. In all four cases, the proposed circuit topologies either improve on or achieve the previously reported upper bounds for the gate counts. Thus, they provide the most efficient method for general gate decompositions currently known.
An optogenetic mouse model of rett syndrome targeting on catecholaminergic neurons

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting multiple functions, including the norepinephrine (NE) system. In the CNS, NE is produced mostly by neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC), where defects in intrinsic neuronal properties, NE biosynthetic enzymes, neuronal CO2 sensitivity, and synaptic currents have been reported in mouse models of RTT. LC neurons in methyl‐CpG‐binding protein 2 gene (Mecp2) null mice show a high rate of spontaneous firing, although whether such hyperexcitability might increase or decrease the NE release from synapses is unknown. To activate the NEergic axonal terminals selectively, we generated an optogenetic mouse model of RTT in which NEergic neuronal excitability can be manipulated with light. Using commercially available mouse breeders, we produced a new strain of double‐transgenic mice with Mecp2 knockout and channelrhodopsin (ChR) knockin in catecholaminergic neurons. Several RTT‐like phenotypes were found in the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)‐ChR‐Mecp2−/Y mice, including hypoactivity, low body weight, hindlimb clasping, and breathing disorders. In brain slices, optostimulation produced depolarization and an increase in the firing rate of LC neurons from TH‐ChR control mice. In TH‐ChR control mice, optostimulation of presynaptic NEergic neurons augmented the firing rate of hypoglossal neurons (HNs), which was blocked by the α‐adrenoceptor antagonist phentolamine. Such optostimulation of NEergic terminals had almost no effect on HNs from two or three TH‐ChR‐Mecp2−/Y mice, indicating that excessive excitation of presynaptic neurons does not benefit NEergic modulation in mice with Mecp2 disruption. These results also demonstrate the feasibility of generating double‐transgenic mice for studies of RTT with commercially available mice, which are inexpensive, labor/time efficient, and promising for cell‐specific stimulation. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A meta-analysis of the effect of lowering serum levels of GH and IGF-I on mortality in acromegaly.

OBJECTIVE Formal studies of acromegaly have found increased mortality associated with the disorder, although reduction of serum levels of GH and IGF-I by treatment appears to improve survival. A meta-analysis of mortality studies in acromegaly has thus been performed to assess the effect of lowering serum GH and IGF-I on survival. DESIGN AND METHODS Medline was searched for studies under 'acromegaly', 'mortality' and 'cause of death' (1965-2008), and abstracts of recent meetings of the US Endocrine Society were hand searched. Studies were restricted to those presenting mortality data according to serum GH and IGF-I at last follow-up, and with mortality expressed as a standardized mortality ratio (SMR). RESULTS Patients with random serum GH <2.5 microg/l following treatment, mostly measured by standard RIA, had mortality close to expected levels (SMR 1.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.9-1.4) compared with an SMR of 1.9 (95% CI 1.5-2.4) for those with final GH >2.5 microg/l. Similarly, a normal serum IGF-I for age and sex at last follow-up after treatment was associated with an SMR of 1.1 (95% CI 0.9-1.4) compared with an SMR of 2.5 (95% CI 1.6-4.0) for those with continued IGF-I elevation. There was a significant trend for reduced mortality in series reporting frequent use of somatostatin analogues and in studies reporting high (>70%) rates of biochemical remission after treatment. CONCLUSIONS Clinicians treating acromegalic patients should aim for random serum GH <2.5 microg/l measured by RIA (probably <1 microg/l measured by modern sensitive immunoassay) and normal serum IGF-I values, to restore the elevated mortality of the condition to normal levels.
Genetic and Biochemical Characterization of a 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol Degradation Pathway in Ralstonia eutropha JMP134

ABSTRACT Ralstonia eutropha JMP134 can grow on several chlorinated aromatic pollutants, including 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP). Although a 2,4,6-TCP degradation pathway in JMP134 has been proposed, the enzymes and genes responsible for 2,4,6-TCP degradation have not been characterized. In this study, we found that 2,4,6-TCP degradation by JMP134 was inducible by 2,4,6-TCP and subject to catabolic repression by glutamate. We detected 2,4,6-TCP-degrading activities in JMP134 cell extracts. Our partial purification and initial characterization of the enzyme indicated that a reduced flavin adenine dinucleotide (FADH2)-utilizing monooxygenase converted 2,4,6-TCP to 6-chlorohydroxyquinol (6-CHQ). The finding directed us to PCR amplify a 3.2-kb fragment containing a gene cluster (tcpABC) from JMP134 by using primers designed from conserved regions of FADH2-utilizing monooxygenases and hydroxyquinol 1,2-dioxygenases. Sequence analysis indicated that tcpA, tcpB, and tcpC encoded an FADH2-utilizing monooxygenase, a probable flavin reductase, and a 6-CHQ 1,2-dioxygenase, respectively. The three genes were individually inactivated in JMP134. The tcpA mutant failed to degrade 2,4,6-TCP, while both tcpB and tcpC mutants degraded 2,4,6-TCP to an oxidized product of 6-CHQ. Insertional inactivation of tcpB may have led to a polar effect on downstream tcpC, and this probably resulted in the accumulation of the oxidized form of 6-CHQ. For further characterization, TcpA was produced, purified, and shown to transform 2,4,6-TCP to 6-CHQ when FADH2 was supplied by an Escherichia coli flavin reductase. TcpC produced in E. coli oxidized 6-CHQ to 2-chloromaleylacetate. Thus, our data suggest that JMP134 transforms 2,4,6-TCP to 2-chloromaleylacetate by TcpA and TcpC. Sequence analysis suggests that tcpB may function as an FAD reductase, but experimental data did not support this hypothesis. The function of TcpB remains unknown.
Yarrowia lipolytica

The yeast Yarrowia lipolytica presents specific physiological, metabolic and genomic characteristics, which differentiate it from the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These properties have led several research groups to use this yeast as a model for basic knowledge. Thanks to the development of advanced genetic tools and ‐omic approaches, significant progress has been achieved in the understanding of specific biological processes. This review, after a short presentation of this model yeast, will briefly highlight the different use of Y. lipolytica for basic knowledge and the advantages gained by exploiting this non‐conventional yeast. Future perspectives in employing this yeast for basic knowledge in the field of RNA splicing and genome evolution, and for the study of lipid metabolism, are also discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Product Assortment and Price Competition Under Multinomial Logit Demand

type="main" xml:id="poms12402-abs-0001"> The role of assortment planning and pricing in shaping sales and profits of retailers is well documented and studied in monopolistic settings. However, such a role remains relatively unexplored in competitive environments. In this study, we study equilibrium behavior of competing retailers in two settings: (i) when prices are exogenously fixed, and retailers compete in assortments only; and (ii) when retailers compete jointly in assortment and prices. For this, we model consumer choice using a multinomial Logit, and assume that each retailer selects products from a predefined set, and faces a display constraint. We show that when the sets of products available to retailers do not overlap, there always exists one equilibrium that Pareto-dominates all others, and that such an outcome can be reached through an iterative process of best responses. A direct corollary of our results is that competition leads a firm to offer a broader set of products compared to when it is operating as a monopolist, and to broader offerings in the market compared to a centralized planner. When some products are available to all retailers, that is, assortments might overlap, we show that display constraints drive equilibrium existence properties.
Effectiveness of hardware-based stride and sequential prefetching in shared-memory multiprocessors

We study the relative efficiency of previously proposed stride and sequential prefetching-two promising hardware-based prefetching schemes to reduce read-miss penalties in shared-memory multiprocessors. Although stride accesses dominate in four out of six of the applications we study, we find that sequential prefetching does better than stride prefetching for three applications. This is because (i) most strides are shorter than the block size (we assume 32 byte blocks), which means that sequential prefetching is as effective for stride accesses, and (ii) sequential prefetching also exploits the locality of read misses for non-stride accesses. However we find that since stride prefetching causes fewer useless prefetches, it consumes less memory-system bandwidth. <<ETX>>
HOXs and lincRNAs: Two sides of the same coin

The Hox complexes: Domains of dynamic interplay between coding and noncoding transcripts. The clustered Hox genes play fundamental roles in regulation of axial patterning and elaboration of the basic body plan in animal development. There are common features in the organization and regulatory landscape of Hox clusters associated with their highly conserved functional roles. The presence of transcribed noncoding sequences embedded within the vertebrate Hox clusters is providing insight into a new layer of regulatory information associated with Hox genes.
[Reverse effect of Yinchenhao decoction in dimethyl nitrosamine-induced hepatic fibrosis in rats].

OBJECTIVE To discuss the reverse effect of Yinchenhao decoction(YCHD) in dimethyl nitrosamine (DMN)-induced hepatic fibrosis in rats. METHOD The rat hepatic fibrosis model was established through the intraperitoneal injection with 1% dimethyl nitrosamine (DMN) with a dose of 1.0 mL x kg(-1) x d(-1) for consecutively three weeks, once for the first three days of each. The rats were randomly divided into six groups: the silymarin positive control group (50.0 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1), YCHD high (20.0 g x kg(-1) d(-1)), middle (8.0 g x kg(-1) x d(-1)) and low (3.2 g x kg(-1) x d(-1)) dose groups, the model group and the normal control group. The model group and the normal control group were orally administered with normal saline for consecutively five weeks. The pathologic changes in liver tissues were observed by HE staining. The levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), g-glutamyltransferase (g-GGT), hyaluronic acid (HA), laminin (LN), collagen type IV (CIV) and type III procollagen amino terminal peptide (PIIINP) in serum were determined. The metabolite profiling of amino acid and the content of hydroxyproline in liver tissues were also measured. RESULT Compared with the model group, YCHD high and middle dose groups could significantly reverse the pathologic changes in liver tissues of rats. YCHD could reduce the levels of ALT, AST, gamma-GGT, HA, LN, CIV, PIIINP in serum and the content of hydroxyproline in liver tissues in a dose-dependent manner, and altered the metabolite profiling of amino acid in rat liver tissues. CONCLUSION YCHD has the effect in reversing dimethyl nitrosamine induced hepatic fibrosis in rats.
Pre‐transplant course and risk of kidney transplant failure in IgA nephropathy patients

Bjørneklett R, Vikse BE, Smerud HK, Bostad L, Leivestad T, Hartmann A, Iversen BM. Pre‐transplant course and risk of kidney transplant failure in IgA nephropathy patients. Clin Transplant 2011: 25: E356–E365. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
Urbanisation tolerance and the loss of avian diversity.

Urbanisation is considered an important driver of current biodiversity loss, but the underlying causes are not fully understood. It is generally assumed that this loss reflects the fact that most organisms do not tolerate well the environmental alterations associated with urbanisation. Nevertheless, current evidence is inconclusive and the alternative that the biodiversity loss is the result of random mechanisms has never been evaluated. Analysing changes in abundance between urbanised environments and their non-urbanised surroundings of > 800 avian species from five continents, we show here that although random processes account for part of the species loss associated with urbanisation, much of the loss is associated with a lack of appropriate adaptations of most species for exploiting resources and avoiding risks of the urban environments. These findings have important conservation implications because the extinction of species with particular features should have higher impact on biodiversity and ecosystem function than a random loss.
Design methodology of a non-invasive sensor to measure the current of the output capacitor for a very fast non-linear control

The combination of non-linear control and linear control proposed in [1] has a very fast transient response (voltage step from 1 V to 1.5 V in 2 ¿s). In order to achieve this fast transient response the non-linear scheme is based on measuring the current of the output capacitor of a Buck converter. The design of this current sensor is complex due to parasitic effects such as component tolerances (bandwidth and dc gain of the Op-Amp), aging, temperature variation, etc. A design methodology for this current sensor is proposed regarding all these effects. The sensing circuit is designed to mirror the actual capacitor current with a trans-impedance amplifier by matching phase and scaling impedances of the RLC network (C, ESR and ESL of the output capacitor). The proposed methodology has been validated by means of a buck converter switching at 5 MHz. Experimental results validate that the current sensor behaves appropriately under voltage and load steps.
From Personal Genomics to Twitter: Visualizing the Uncertainty of Evidence

Personal genomics offers a complex form of uncertainty in which a person’s data are largely stable, but the interpretation and implications continue to evolve with the emergence of new research. Another domain, in which there is uncertainty about the supporting evidence and truthfulness of a claim, is social networks. We propose that a similar method can be used to communicate uncertainty in these contexts, and present a tool for visualizing social network claims that builds upon research in both contexts.
Economic Dynasties with Intermissions

We consider a model of successive generations with a fixed proportion of selfish and altruistic members in each individual's offspring. In contrast with the others, selfish members bequeath nothing to their own children. We assume that parents cannot recognize their heirs' types and that negative bequests are forbidden. We study Markov perfect equilibria of this multistage game of incomplete information and their implications for wealth distribution.
A Specific ATPG technique for Resistive Open with Sequence Recursive Dependency

This paper analyzes the electrical behaviour of resistive opens as a function of their unpredictable resistance. It is demonstrated that the electrical behaviour depends on the value of the open resistance. It is also shown that detection of the open by a given vector Ti recursively depends on all the vectors that have been applied to the circuit before Ti. An electrical analysis of this recursive effect is presented and a specific ATPG strategy is proposed