Functional Perspective Research Articles

Consumption, Housing Market and Demand for Mortgage Finance: Some Crucial Theoretical Discussions towards an Appropriate Model for an Emerging Economy

This paper focus on the consumption function theoretical perspective and how this can used to derive suitable models for the demand for mortgage finance. This study will critically examine the various consumption functions in economic science which have been developed over the last century. The review of the various models will focus on the structure, characteristics, variables, data sets and sources that were used and the critical findings of the models. This paper examined existing literature on the consumption functions discussions, identified the critical characteristics from the model and identified the differences among the various consumption model. Furthermore, the consumption functions were linked to the various demand for mortgage financing models in this work. This study spanned the years 1923 through 2023 where these important tools can be vital to the understanding of the various economic cycle and significant instruments for effective decisions regarding investment, monetary and fiscal policy. The periods experienced critical economic shocks such as credit boom, a financial recession, a rebound, and strong economic expansion. In this study piece, a systematic literature review (SLR) was performed, and the research revealed crucial consumption functions analysis to enable this paper identify suitable demand for Mortgage finance model for an emerging economy. A SLR was performed using a sample of 100 research articles chosen from a pool of 400 papers obtained from Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, ABS journal and, among other sources. As a result of the review, the paper recommended a hybrid model that blended the theoretical perspective of consumption functions and relevant characteristics that is suitable for an emerging economy. This model will be useful for mortgage analysts, Credit Managers, Governments and Bankers to implement and enhance the movements in the mortgage market. This will also enhance and assist in facilitating the effective implementation of the Nigerian mortgage finance policy.

From the modeling of diadromous species’ marine distributions to the characterization of their current and future marine habitats

IntroductionMany diadromous fish species are currently facing the threat of generalized population extirpations across their range, and conservation efforts implemented primarily within the continental domain may not be sufficient to ensure their viability. In consequence, better understanding the use of the marine environment by these species turned out to be critical.Material and methodWe developed marine species distribution models for two species, Allis shad (Alosa alosa) and the European flounder (Platichthys flesus), and proposed a way to interpret the habitat suitability from a more functional perspective. Our approach defined marine habitats as highly suitable environments that remained with a high potential through the species life stage duration at sea. First, a species-specific probabilistic threshold was applied to select for highly suitable environments each year of the simulations. Then, annual maps of high suitability were combined into recurrence maps showing areas were the environmental conditions remained the most suitable across the life at sea of the given species, these areas being called ‘marine habitats’. We applied this approach to study the current and future marine habitats of Allis shad and European flounder under climate change scenarios.ResultsThe main current marine habitats of these species were coastal, primarily in the Bay of Biscay for Allis shad and in the English Channel-North Sea for European flounder. These habitats are expected to experience minimal changes by mid-century, and the species may even benefit from new habitats at higher latitudes. However, the European flounder is likely to face greater challenges in the central part of its range by the end of the century, as potential spawning grounds may be threatened.DiscussionThis study provided a way to rethink ‘traditional’ suitability maps by integrating basic knowledge on the diadromous species life at sea. Our findings were part of a larger effort to link continental and marine habitats in improving management of diadromous species.

Deontic Modality in "The Invisible Man" Movie (A Systemic Functional Linguistics Perspective)

This research discusses the aspects of action and speech that are contained in The Invisible Man movie based on the theory of Jespersen and Palmer (2007) in the sub-categories commissive, directive, and volitive. The objective of this research is to describe deontic modality in three sub-categories commissive, directive, and volitive in The Invisible Man movie. This research used the descriptive qualitative method. The sources of data of this research are audio visual as primary data and written utterances from screenshotting and transcribing as secondary data. The data is from The Invisible Man movie. Data collection was carried out by searching and downloading movies, watching movies, screenshotting, classifying, and coding. Data were analyzed by presenting, describing, interpreting, and concluding data to answer research questions from this research. The results show that 18 data are included in the sub-categories commissive, directive, and volitive. Deontic modality appears because it is made by several characters in the movie that make promises and threats (commissive), make requests, order others to do something, give suggestions, carry out obligations (directive), and hope for something (volitive). The researcher found that the characters in The Invisible Man movie adopt deontic modality aspects that focus on the sub-categories commissive, directive, and volitive modality because many scenes show how aspects of the three sub-categories are used by characters to overcome existing problems. These three sub-categories are related to each other, the existence of a commissive that will lead to the directive to volitive.

Unraveling the Possibilities: Recent Progress in DNA Biosensing.

Due to the advantages of its numerous modification sites, predictable structure, high thermal stability, and excellent biocompatibility, DNA is the ideal choice as a key component of biosensors. DNA biosensors offer significant advantages over existing bioanalytical techniques, addressing limitations in sensitivity, selectivity, and limit of detection. Consequently, they have attracted significant attention from researchers worldwide. Here, we exemplify four foundational categories of functional nucleic acids: aptamers, DNAzymes, i-motifs, and G-quadruplexes, from the perspective of the structure-driven functionality in constructing DNA biosensors. Furthermore, we provide a concise overview of the design and detection mechanisms employed in these DNA biosensors. Noteworthy advantages of DNA as a sensor component, including its programmable structure, reaction predictility, exceptional specificity, excellent sensitivity, and thermal stability, are highlighted. These characteristics contribute to the efficacy and reliability of DNA biosensors. Despite their great potential, challenges remain for the successful application of DNA biosensors, spanning storage and detection conditions, as well as associated costs. To overcome these limitations, we propose potential strategies that can be implemented to solve these issues. By offering these insights, we aim to inspire subsequent researchers in related fields.

Assessing the use of self–regulatory oral communication strategies by Polish learners of Spanish: The feasibility of adapting the OCSI

Language learning strategies (LLS) have evolved from a research construct approached mostly from a functional perspective to one which is investigated in specific contexts of particular skills, subsystems, and types of learners. Moreover, LLS use has been linked to self-regulated learning. From this angle, language learners may be approached as individuals resorting to various ways of enhancing their performance across macro- and micro-skills. Among them, oral communication strategies (OCS) are essential because they directly affect the effectiveness of interaction and, consequently, determine how much the learners themselves may benefit from it in terms of progress. Among inventories developed to assess the use of OCS, the Oral Communication Strategy Inventory (OCSI, Nakatani, 2006) is particularly appealing. First, it was developed on a basis of two consecutive studies, one of which was based on insights from a large sample of learners. Second, its scales were distinguished by means of robust factor analysis. For these reasons, it has been used in studies into foreign language learners’ use of OCS (e.g., Pawlak, 2015, 2018). This notwithstanding, apart from the investigation by Yaman and Kavasoğlu (2013), no studies relying on the OCSI (Nakatani, 2006) discuss its adaptability to local conditions in terms of its fulfilment of goodness criteria for psychometric tests. Attempting to bridge this gap in research, the present paper considers the feasibility of adapting the OCSI to assess OCS use by Polish learners of Spanish in extended curriculum settings. Overall, the results of the study show that after some minor adjustments, the inventory may be used as a reliable and valid instrument.

Atmospheric pressure pulsed modulated arc discharge plasma

Direct-current (DC) arc plasma has great application values in the field of the chemical industry, but it has the problem of low energy efficiency. Facing the requirement for improving the energy efficiency of the arc, this paper proposes a unique method of pulsed modulated arc (PMA). This method uses high-frequency pulses and reduces the arc current to improve the control of electron temperature. The electrical characteristics, optical characteristics and products are tested. The test results show that during the PMA process, all of the experimental results which include voltage, current and light will significantly increase. These results are analyzed from the perspective of functionality, repeatability and energy conversion. The analysis results show that although the PMA method does not show good parameter consistency, it has potential application prospects because it increases the energy conversion rate by 4.5% and 8% from the perspective of light and products, respectively.

VHL L169P Variant Does Not Alter Cellular Hypoxia Tension in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma.

In the current era of tumor genome sequencing, single amino acid missense variants in the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene are frequently identified in clear cell renal carcinoma (ccRCC). Due to the incomplete knowledge of the structural architecture of VHL protein, the functional significance of many missense mutations cannot be assigned. L169P is one such missense mutation identified in the case of aggressive, metastatic ccRCC. Here, we characterized the biochemical activity, transcriptomic hypoxia signature and biological functions of the L169P variant. Lentiviral vector expressing either wildtype (WT) or L169P VHL were used to transduce two VHL-deficient human ccRCC cell lines, 786-O and RCC4. The stability of the VHL protein and the expression level of VHL, HIF1α and HIF2α were analyzed. The impact of restoring L169P or WT VHL on the hypoxia gene expression program in 786-O cells was assessed by mRNA sequencing (RNAseq) and computed hypoxic scores. The impact of restoring VHL expression on the growth of ccRCC models was assessed in cell cultures and in chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) xenografts. In the 786-O cells, the protein stability of L169P VHL was comparable to WT VHL. No obvious difference in the capability of degrading HIF1α and HIF2α was observed between WT and L169P VHL in the 786-O or RCC4 cells. The hypoxic scores were not significantly different in the 786-O cells expressing either wildtype or L169P VHL. From the cellular function perspective, both WT and L169P VHL slowed cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. The L169P VHL variant is comparable to WT VHL in terms of protein stability, ability to degrade HIF1α factors and ability to regulate hypoxia gene expression, as well as in the suppression of ccRCC tumor cell growth. Taken together, our data indicate that the L169P VHL variant alone is unlikely to drive the oncogenesis of sporadic ccRCC.

Mesenchymal stem cells derived from the fibrotic tissue of atrophic nonunion or the bone marrow of iliac crest: A donor-matched comparison

PurposeAtrophic nonunion is one of the most difficult complications of fracture. The cellular factors that contribute to atrophic nonunion are poorly understood, and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are recognized as the key contributor to bone formation. This study aimed to characterize the MSCs isolated from the fibrotic tissue of atrophic nonunion (AN-MSCs) from the perspective of proliferation, differentiation potential, senescence, and paracrine function. MethodsHuman atrophic fibrotic tissue was obtained from four donors aged 29–37 for isolating AN-MSCs, and donor-matched bone marrow acquired from the iliac crest for isolating MSCs (IC-MSCs) as control. The AN-MSCs or IC-MSCs in passage 3 were applied for the following evaluations. The surface markers expressed on the two cells were evaluated using flow cytometry. The proliferation of the two cells for up to 11 days was comparatively investigated. After osteogenic, chondrogenic, or adipogenic induction, multi-lineage differentiation of AN-MSCs or IC-MSCs was comparatively evaluated using lineage-specific stains and lineage-specific gene expression. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) assessment was applied to evaluate the paracrine function of AN-MSCs or IC-MSCs. Cellular senescence of AN-MSCs or IC-MSCs was evaluated using senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) staining. ResultsAN-MSCs or IC-MSCs from the four donors showed morphologic and immunophenotypic characteristics of MSCs, with the expression of MSCs markers and negative expression of hematopoietic markers. In general, AN-MSCs showed similar proliferation and adipogenic capacity with IC-MSCs. In contrast, IC-MSCs showed significantly higher osteogenic and chondrogenic capacity compared to AN-MSCs. Moreover, the culture medium of IC-MSCs contains significantly higher levels of VEGF, TGF-β1, PDGF-BB, and IGF-1 than the culture medium of AN-MSCs. Lastly, the AN-MSCs are more prone to cellular senescence than the IC-MSCs. ConclusionsIn-vitro, AN-MSCs were similar to IC-MSCs in proliferation and adipogenic capacity, but inferior to IC-MSCs in osteogenic and chondrogenic capacity, paracrine function, and anti-senescence.

Emergence of belief-like representations through reinforcement learning.

To behave adaptively, animals must learn to predict future reward, or value. To do this, animals are thought to learn reward predictions using reinforcement learning. However, in contrast to classical models, animals must learn to estimate value using only incomplete state information. Previous work suggests that animals estimate value in partially observable tasks by first forming "beliefs"-optimal Bayesian estimates of the hidden states in the task. Although this is one way to solve the problem of partial observability, it is not the only way, nor is it the most computationally scalable solution in complex, real-world environments. Here we show that a recurrent neural network (RNN) can learn to estimate value directly from observations, generating reward prediction errors that resemble those observed experimentally, without any explicit objective of estimating beliefs. We integrate statistical, functional, and dynamical systems perspectives on beliefs to show that the RNN's learned representation encodes belief information, but only when the RNN's capacity is sufficiently large. These results illustrate how animals can estimate value in tasks without explicitly estimating beliefs, yielding a representation useful for systems with limited capacity.

Education in a Functional Structural Perspective and Conflict Regarding Social Relations in Society

In the structural functional approach, society is seen as a collection of interrelated parts. In society, reciprocity and symbiotic relationships are mutualism. A system is dynamic when it strives towards equilibrium. The existence of social dysfunction or social differences can eventually be resolved by itself as a result of adaptation and institutionalization processes. This research aims at How Education in a Functional Structural Perspective and Conflicts About Social Relations in Society. In this study the author of this study was written using library techniques. Reading the latest literature provides primary data. the results of this research include that Learning or Education is a process of changing the behavior of both individuals and groups in an effort to mature humans through teaching and training efforts and also called education is a way and process and act of educating, Structural Functional Knowledge recognizes that Functionalism or Structural theory focuses on Social integration, social stability, and consensus on key values

Middle leaders in higher education: the role of social-political arrangements in prefiguring practices of middle leading

ABSTRACT Middle leadership is an area of increasing interest in higher education with little research to date exploring middle leading from the perspective of function or discipline leadership roles within Departments. This article uses a case study of twelve middle leaders within a university faculty in Australia to examine the broader contexts of middle leading practices. Using the theory of practice architectures as a theoretical tool, the article discusses practice arrangements enabling and constraining middle leading for discipline leaders and coordinators. Of particular interest is the important role of social-political arrangements in enabling and constraining middle leading practices and the tensions that arise. Given the critical strategic role of middle leaders in leading teaching and learning in universities, this article provides a deeper understanding of the practice landscape within which middle leading practices happen and factors influencing the middle leader’s role so that universities can provide appropriate support and development.

Looking Back, Moving Forward in Pain Medicine.

Pain is an ancient medical complaint and a clinical riddle that has never been entirely solved. Looking back into history was the springboard to a look into the future of pain medicine. This article was based on a series of presentations given in a recent congress (May 2023)and represents the research, views, and opinions of the authors. Opium has been used for millennia to treat pain, but when it gained broad use in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s, it was so vastly overprescribed and mis-prescribed that it led to a public health crisis. This, in turn, led to the reaction where opioids at times were under-prescribed, leaving out many patients who may have benefited from opioids while leaving many legacy pain patients to manage withdrawal on their own and with few analgesic options. Cannabinoids (CB) were likewise widely used for various conditions, including pain, but were outlawed in the 20th century, only to be brought back as a potential analgesic agent. Interventional pain medicine is a developing discipline and has reinforced the concept of the interdisciplinary pain clinic. It plays an increasingly important part in modern medicine overall, especially with the support of ultrasound, for both diagnosis and therapy. Today, the views about pain have changed. Anyone has accepted that pain is not purely a physical phenomenonbut a biopsychosocial phenomenon that occurs within a cultural context. Pain management remains a small but vitally important medical subspecialty that is critical from a functional enablement and population health perspective, which is helping to navigate new therapeutic targets, new drugsand routes of administration, greater understanding of pain psychology, and new technologies. Pain control today means early intervention, functional enablement through pain alleviation, educating patients about pain management, and minimizing the transition from acute to chronic pain.

The emerging concept of transportome: state of the art.

The array of ion channels and transporters expressed in cell membranes-collectively referred to as the transportome-is a complex and multifunctional molecular machinery; in particular, at the plasma membrane level it finely tunes the exchange of biomolecules and ions acting as a functionally adaptive interface that accounts for dynamic plasticity in the response to environmental fluctuations and stressors. The transportome is responsible for the definition of membrane potential and its variations, participates in the transduction of extracellular signals, and acts as a filter for most of the substances entering and leaving the cell, thus enabling the homeostasis of many cellular parameters. For all these reasons, physiologists have long been interested in the expression and functionality of ion channels and transporters, both in physiological and pathological settings, and across the different domains of life. Today, thanks to the high-throughput technologies of the post-genomic era, the omics approach to the study of the transportome is becoming increasingly popular in different areas of biomedical research, allowing for a more comprehensive, integrated, and functional perspective of this complex cellular apparatus. This paper represents a first effort for a systematic review of the scientific literature on this topic. Here we report a brief overview of all those studies-both primary and meta-analyses-that looked at the transportome as a whole, regardless of the biological problem or the models they used. A later section is devoted to the methodological aspect by reviewing the most important public databases with transporter annotations. Before conclusions, limitations and future perspectives are also discussed.

Exploring the urban–rural gradient effects of construction land expansion processes on land use function trade‐off/synergy in rapidly urbanizing areas

AbstractConstruction land expansion greatly affects the supply and interaction of distinct land use functions, particularly in rapidly urbanizing areas. However, existing research rarely focuses on the urban–rural gradient role of different construction land expansion processes in affecting the interactions between land use functions, which limits the refined high‐quality development of territorial space. Using the main urban area of Hangzhou as an example, this research analyzed the spatiotemporal transmission process of trade‐offs/synergies among distinct functions between urban and rural regions from the living‐production‐ecological function perspective, and probed the differences in the impact of distinct urban and rural construction land expansion processes on them across different urban–rural gradients, thereby proposing the urban–rural spatial development pathways for promoting synergistic territorial spatial patterns. The results showed that the changes in different functions had an obvious urban–rural gradient difference. During 2000–2020, the trade‐off between living function and other functions increased continuously, and regions with a higher trade‐off primarily shifted from urban development areas to urban–rural transition areas. The infilling and edge‐expansion of urban construction land were more favorable to the increased synergy between distinct functions; the infilling and edge‐expansion of rural construction land in urban development and urban–rural transition areas greatly reduced the functional trade‐off level, while its leapfrogging in rural development areas strongly affected the synergy between distinct functions. These findings can help to restrict unreasonable urban and rural construction land expansion processes as well as promote synergistic territorial space patterns in rapidly urbanizing regions.

Corpus-pragmatic perspectives on the contemporary weakening of fuck: The case of teenage British English conversation

This study examines the pragmatic functions of fuck among British English teenagers in casual conversation in two youth language corpora from the 1990s and 2010s. It applies a corpus-pragmatics approach to explore how the ongoing weakening of the taboo strength of fuck in the perception of young speakers is realised in usage data. The major functions observed involve a predominance of idiomatic, emphatic and emotionally expressive functions. Conversely, usage associated with potentially abusive functions, including literal reference to sexual intercourse, is infrequent. Our observations are interpreted in the context of delexicalization and related long-term diachronic processes, whereby contemporary usage of fuck among teenagers is characterised in terms of semi-delexicalized, pragmatically strengthened usage with weakened taboo status. The article also evaluates the interpretation of idiomatic usage from a functional perspective, and contributes to methodological considerations of the use of spoken corpora for pragmatic research.

Attack–Defense Game in Interdependent Networks: A Functional Perspective

Attack–Defense Game in Interdependent Networks: A Functional Perspective

Optimizing Data Pipelines for Machine Learning in Feature Stores

Data pipelines (i.e., converting raw data to features) are critical for machine learning (ML) models, yet their development and management is time-consuming. Feature stores have recently emerged as a new "DBMS-for-ML" with the premise of enabling data scientists and engineers to define and manage their data pipelines. While current feature stores fulfill their promise from a functionality perspective, they are resource-hungry---with ample opportunities for implementing database-style optimizations to enhance their performance. In this paper, we propose a novel set of optimizations specifically targeted for point-in-time join, which is a critical operation in data pipelines. We implement these optimizations on top of Feathr: a widely-used feature store, and evaluate them on use cases from both the TPCx-AI benchmark and real-world online retail scenarios. Our thorough experimental analysis shows that our optimizations can accelerate data pipelines by up to 3× over state-of-the-art baselines.

Ubiquitination of ASCL1 mediates CD47 transcriptional activation of the AKT signaling pathway, and glycolysis promotes osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs

Bones are extremely dynamic organs that continually develop and remodel. This process involves changes in numerous gene expressions. hBMSC cells can promote osteogenic differentiation. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the mechanism by which ASCL1 promotes osteogenic differentiation in hBMSC cells while decreasing glycolysis. hBMSCs were induced to differentiate into osteoblasts. The ASCL1 expression level during hBMSC osteogenic differentiation was measured by RT‒qPCR, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence. The differentiation level of osteoblasts was observed after staining with ALP and alizarin red. ChIP-qPCR were used to determine the relationship between ASCL1 and CD47, and the expression of glycolysis-related proteins was detected. Overexpression of ASCL1 was used to determine its impact on osteogenic differentiation. si-USP8 was used to verify the ubiquitination of ASCL1-mediated CD47/AKT pathway’s impact on hBMSC glycolysis and osteogenic differentiation. The results showed that the expression of ASCL1 was upregulated after the induction of osteogenic differentiation in hBMSCs. From a functional perspective, knocking down USP8 can promote the ubiquitination of ASCL1, while the osteogenic differentiation ability of hBMSCs was improved after the overexpression of ASCL1, indicating that ASCL1 can promote the osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs. In addition, USP8 regulates the ubiquitination level of ASCL1 and mediates CD47 transcriptional regulation of the AKT pathway to increase the glycolysis level of hBMSCs and cell osteogenic differentiation. USP8 ubiquitination regulates the level of ASCL1. In addition, ubiquitination of ASCL1 mediates CD47 transcription to activate the AKT signaling pathway and increase hBMSC glycolysis to promote osteogenic differentiation.

Protective role of inflammatory cytokines in murine miscarriage: perspective of Interleukin-18 function

Protective role of inflammatory cytokines in murine miscarriage: perspective of Interleukin-18 function

RDLNet: A Regularized Descriptor Learning Network.

Local image descriptor learning has been instrumental in various computer vision tasks. Recent innovations lie with similarity measurement of descriptor vectors with metric learning for randomly selected Siamese or triplet patches. Local image descriptor learning focuses more on hard samples since easy samples do not contribute much to optimization. However, few studies focus on hard samples of image patches from the perspective of loss functions and design appropriate learning algorithms to obtain a more compact descriptor representation. This article proposes a regularized descriptor learning network (RDLNet) that makes the network focus on the learning of hard samples and compact descriptor with triplet networks. A novel hard sample mining strategy is designed to select the hardest negative samples in mini-batch. Then batch margin loss concerned with hard samples is adopted to optimize the distance of extreme cases. Finally, for a more stable network and preventing network collapsing, orthogonal regularization is designed to constrain convolutional kernels and obtain rich deep features. RDLNet provides a compact discriminative low-dimensional representation and can be embedded in other pipelines easily. This article gives extensive experimental results for large benchmarks in multiple scenarios and generalization in matching applications with significant improvements.