Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mesh independence and fast local convergence of a primal-dual active-set method for mixed control-state constrained elliptic control problems

A class of mixed control-state constrained optimal control problems for elliptic partial differential equations arising, for example, in Lavrentiev-type regularized state constrained optimal control is considered. Its numerical solution is obtained via a primal-dual active-set method, which is equivalent to a class of semi-smooth Newton methods. The locally superlinear convergence of the active-set method in function space is established, and its mesh independence is proved. The paper contains a report on numerical test runs including a comparison with a short-step path-following interior-point method and a coarse-to-fine mesh sweep, that is, a nested iteration technique, for accelerating the overall solution process. Finally, convergence and regularity properties of the regularized problems with respect to a vanishing Lavrentiev parameter are considered.
A potential bias in the temporal method for estimating Ne in admixed populations under natural selection

Indirect genetic methods are frequently used to estimate the effective population size (Ne) or effective number of breeders (Nb) in natural populations. Although assumptions behind these methods are often violated, there have been few attempts to evaluate how accurate these estimates really are in practice. Here we investigate the influence of natural selection following a population admixture on the temporal method for estimating Ne. Our analytical and simulation results suggest that Ne is often underestimated in this method when subpopulations differ substantially in allele frequencies and in reproductive success. The underestimation is exacerbated when true Ne and the fraction of the low‐fitness group are large. As an empirical example, we compared Nb estimated in natural populations of steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) using the temporal method (N̂b[temp]) with estimates based on direct demographic methods (N̂b[demo]) and the linkage disequilibrium method (N̂b[LD]). While N̂b[LD] was generally in close agreement with N̂b[demo], N̂b[temp] was much lower in sample sets that were dominated by nonlocal hatchery fish with low reproductive success, as predicted by the analytical results. This bias in the temporal method, which arises when genes associated with a particular group of parents are selected against in the offspring sample, has not been widely appreciated before. Such situations may be particularly common when artificial propagation or translocations are used for conservation. The linkage disequilibrium method, which requires data from only one sample, is robust to this type of bias, although it can be affected by other factors.
APT: Action localization proposals from dense trajectories

This paper is on action localization in video with the aid of spatio-temporal proposals. To alleviate the computational expensive segmentation step of existing proposals, we propose bypassing the segmentations completely by generating proposals directly from the dense trajectories used to represent videos during classification. Our Action localization Proposals from dense Trajectories (APT) use an efficient proposal generation algorithm to handle the high number of trajectories in a video. Our spatio-temporal proposals are faster than current methods and outperform the localization and classification accuracy of current proposals on the UCF Sports, UCF 101, and MSR-II video datasets. Corrected version: we fixed a mistake in our UCF-101 ground truth. Numbers are different; conclusions are unchanged
Approaches to Treatment of Pre-Diabetes and Obesity and Promising New Approaches to Type 2 Diabetes

Perspectives on the News commentaries are part of a free monthly CME activity. The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, designates this activity for 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 credits. If you wish to participate, review this article and visit www.diabetes. procampus.net to complete a posttest and receive a certificate. The Mount Sinai School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians . This article is based on presentations at the Tulane University Diabetes Update on 8 December 2007 in New Orleans, Louisiana; at the Mount Sinai Medical Center Diabetes Grand Rounds in New York, New York, on 6 December 2007; and at the American Diabetes Association's 55th Annual Advanced Postgraduate Course held 1–3 February 2008 in San Francisco, California. These lectures, addressing differing views of various speakers on various aspects of diabetes prevention, obesity, and new treatments for type 2 diabetes, are available online at http://professional.diabetes. org. Richard Bergenstal (Minneapolis, MN) reviewed approaches to treatment of pre-diabetes at the American Diabetes Association Postgraduate Course. The number of individuals with diabetes worldwide is projected to increase to 333 million by 2025, and the annual cost of diabetes in the U.S. today has reached $174 billion (1). The burden of complications among diabetic individuals aged >65 years in the U.S. includes doubling of the rates of myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure (2). Bergenstal reviewed current guidelines for using elevated fasting and 2-h glucose, as well as the growing use of A1C, in the assessment of the pre-diabetic state. The presence of both impaired fasting glucose (IFG) (≥100 mg/dl) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) (blood glucose 2 h after 75-g oral glucose ≥140 mg/dl) doubles the risk of progression to diabetes. Insulin secretory defects are seen in …
School of Urban Studies and Planning 8-2016 Integrating High-Resolution Datasets to Target Mitigation Efforts for Improving Air Quality and Public Health in Urban Neighborhoods

Reducing exposure to degraded air quality is essential for building healthy cities. Although air quality and population vary at fine spatial scales, current regulatory and public health frameworks assess human exposures using countyor city-scales. We build on a spatial analysis technique, dasymetric mapping, for allocating urban populations that, together with emerging fine-scale measurements of air pollution, addresses three objectives: (1) evaluate the role of spatial scale in estimating exposure; (2) identify urban communities that are disproportionately burdened by poor air quality; and (3) estimate reduction in mobile sources of pollutants due to local tree-planting efforts using nitrogen dioxide. Our results show a maximum value of 197% difference between cadastrally-informed dasymetric system (CIDS) and standard estimations of population exposure to degraded air quality for small spatial extent analyses, and a lack of substantial difference for large spatial extent analyses. These results provide the foundation for improving policies for managing air quality, and targeting mitigation efforts to address challenges of environmental justice.
Assessment of voiding dysfunction in Parkinson's disease by the international prostate symptom score

OBJECTIVES To find the incidence of voiding dysfunction in Parkinson's disease and to examine the relation between the voiding dysfunction and various indices of the disease (disease severity, disease duration, age, sex, and treatment with antiparkisonian drugs), the presence of voiding dysfunction was quantitatively estimated in patients sampled on the unselected (consecutive) basis. METHODS Using the international prostate symptom score, lower urinary tract symptoms were quantitatively evaluated in all patients with Parkinson's disease visiting this neurological clinic during 1 month. RESULTS Of the 203 patients who had completed the questionnaire, 55 (27%) were considered to have symptomatic voiding dysfunction. The degree of lower urinary tract symptoms in these patients was well correlated with the severity of the disease rather than with the disease duration or the age. Thirty three (16%) patients had irritative symptoms alone, whereas three (1.5%) patients had obstructive symptoms alone. The irritative and obstructive symptoms were concomitant in 13 (6%) patients. Quality of life was disturbed by lower urinary tract symptoms, and this disturbance paralleled the severity of the disease. The influence of antiparkisonian drugs on the lower urinary tract symptoms was uncertain. The incidence of lower urinary tract symptoms seemed to be independent of sex, but obstructive symptoms were prevalent in male patients. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that voiding dysfunction in patients with Parkinson's disease progressively develops at advanced stages (⩾Hoehn and Yahr stage 3 of the disability). The International prostate symptom score is useful in evaluating the voiding dysfunction of neurodegenerative disease in both men and women, not only reflecting prostatic symptoms.
Influence of surface effects on the pull-in instability of NEMS electrostatic switches

The influence of surface effects, including residual surface stress and surface elasticity, on the pull-in instability of electrostatic switches in nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) is studied using an Euler–Bernoulli beam model. This model is inherently nonlinear due to the driving electrostatic force and Casimir force which become dominant at the nanoscale. Since no exact solutions are available for the resulting nonlinear differential equation, He’s homotopy perturbation method (HPM) is used to get the approximate analytical solutions to the static bending of NEMS switches, which are validated by numerical solutions of the finite difference method (FDM). The results demonstrate that surface effects play a significant role in the selection of basic design parameters of NEMS switches, such as static deflection, pull-in voltage and detachment length. Surface effects on low-voltage actuation windows are also characterized for these switches. The present study is envisaged to provide useful insights for the design of NEMS switches.
Integrin-Linked Kinase Overexpression and Its Oncogenic Role in Promoting Tumorigenicity of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) was first discovered as an integrin β1-subunit binding protein. It localizes at the focal adhesions and is involved in cytoskeleton remodeling. ILK overexpression and its dysregulated signaling cascades have been reported in many human cancers. Aberrant expression of ILK influenced a wide range of signaling pathways and cellular functions. Although ILK has been well characterized in many malignancies, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still largely unknown. Methodology/Principal Findings Quantitative PCR analysis was used to examine ILK mRNA expression in HCC clinical samples. It was shown that ILK was overexpressed in 36.9% (21/57) of HCC tissues when compared to the corresponding non-tumorous livers. The overall ILK expression level was significantly higher in tumorous tissues (P = 0.004), with a significant stepwise increase in expression level along tumor progression from tumor stage I to IV (P = 0.045). ILK knockdown stable clones were established in two HCC cell lines, BEL7402 and HLE, and were subjected to different functional assays. Knockdown of ILK significantly suppressed HCC cell growth, motility and invasion in vitro and inhibited tumorigenicity in vivo. Western blot analysis revealed a reduced phosphorylated-Akt (pAkt) at Serine-473 expression in ILK knockdown stable clones when compared to control clones. Conclusion/Significance This study provides evidence about the clinical relevance of ILK in hepatocarcinogenesis. ILK was found to be progressively elevated along HCC progression. Here our findings also provide the first validation about the oncogenic capacity of ILK in vivo by suppressing its expression in HCC cells. The oncogenic role of ILK is implicated to be mediated by Akt pathway.
Perceived challenges among campus press at the height of the pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has created various challenges that allowed academic stakeholders to reflect on the concerns encountered by school administrators, teachers, and students. Many studies focused on the challenges of professional journalists. However, only a few studies on student journalists were explored. In this regard, this study aimed to describe and analyze the challenges of student journalists at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. A qualitative research design was used in this research. Grounded in this study were the student journalists’ personal experiences and narration of their expressed challenges as writers of the Nation Builder, the official student publication of a state university. Thematic analysis using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) Model was used to analyze the qualitative data gathered. Findings show that there were five identified themes such as health-related issues, ICT-related issues, connectivity-related issues, adaptability-related issues, and journalism-related issues. There are action plans that need to be implemented to sustain the interest of student journalists to write newsworthy articles. Training programs and capacity-building activities could be organized to boost the confidence of the students in coping with the pandemic.
Disambiguating ambiguity: A comparative analysis of lexical decision-making in native and non-native English speakers

Making lexical decisions to disambiguate multiple-meaning words or senses provides clear evidence of word recognition, processing systems and representation in the mental lexicon. This comparative study explores non-native English speakers’ and native English speakers’ cognitive mechanisms employed in phonological and lexical ambiguity resolution embedded in auditory and visual utterances. English proficiency and vocabulary tests and two lexical decision tests were conducted with 35 EFL undergraduate students and four native English monolingual speakers. The effects of factors such as L2 proficiency and familiarity on ambiguity resolution in addition to the resolution techniques employed were also explored. Our findings suggest that the differences in disambiguating L2 words among native English speakers and non-native English speakers might indicate different comprehension, representation and processing patterns. The ambiguity type most likely has a major role in determining the diverse phenomenon of ambiguity resolution. More specifically, there was evidence of significant differences in homophone use, metaphorical polysemy and homonym ambiguity resolution between the two groups, excluding metonymous polysemy. Homophones and polysemy were the least problematic and challenging lexical ambiguity types unlike homonymy for the non-native group. Other results also revealed the positive effects of L2 proficiency and L2 word familiarity on ambiguity resolution. Thus, this study also has important implications considering the vital role of vocabulary in L2 competence and knowledge.
Comparison of Psychotropic Drug Prescribing Quality between Zagreb, Croatia and Sarajevo, B&H.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this paper was to compare outpatient consumption and quality of psychotropic drug prescribing between Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina 2006-2010. METHODS Data on drug utilization from Zagreb Municipal Pharmacy and Sarajevo Public Pharmacy were used to calculate the number of defined daily doses (DDD) and DDD per 1000 inhabitants per day (DDD/TID) using the WHO Anatomical-Therapeutic-Chemical methodology. RESULTS Total utilization of psychopharmaceuticals increased in both cities; however, it was higher in Zagreb than in Sarajevo throughout the study period. The utilization of psycholeptics increased in Zagreb by 2.4% (from 74.5 to 76.3 DDD/TID) and in Sarajevo by 3.8% (from 62.4 to 64.8 DDD/TID). The utilization of anxiolytics decreased in Zagreb by 2.1% and in Sarajevo by even 18.7%. The utilization of antidepressants increased in both cities with predominance of SSRI over TCA utilization, greater in Sarajevo (96.6%) than in Zagreb (10.2%). The anxiolytic/antidepressant ratio decreased by 11.1% in Zagreb (from 2.87 to 2.55) and by 58.7% in Sarajevo (from 5.66 to 2.34). Outpatient utilization of antipsychotics increased significantly in Sarajevo, predominated by typical ones, whereas in Zagreb the utilization of antipsychotics was stable, predominated by atypical ones. CONCLUSIONS In Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina, there was an obvious tendency to follow western trends in drug prescribing, as demonstrated by the increased use of antidepressants and reduced use of anxiolytics. Despite some improvement observed in the prescribing quality, high use of antipsychotics with dominance of typical antipsychotics in Sarajevo points to the need of prescribing guidelines for antipsychotics.
Investigation of environmentally friendly postharvest treatments to extend the storage life of soft citrus cv. Clementine

Postharvest heat treatments have reportedly been successful in triggering host defence reactions in fruit. Heat shock proteins (HSP) are involved in this process and were therefore used as marker molecules to find optimal hot water dip (HWD) treatments for Clementine mandarins. The enzyme phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and phenolic compounds are also involved in host defence reactions and their response to the different HWD was also monitored. ‘Nules’ Clementine from two different growing seasons (2009-2010) and production areas (Western Cape and Eastern Cape) were exposed to a range of HWD treatments. Peel samples were taken throughout the storage period and induced HSP production was detected using gel electrophoresis and Western Blotting. According to the results, a HWD at 52°C for 5 min. allowed maximum elicitation of 70 kDa HSP production in ‘Nules’ Clementine, without damaging the fruit. However, HWD regimes exceeding 55°C resulted in peel damage. Results further indicated that the enzyme PAL was also involved in the heat shock response and that increased HSP production was associated with reduced PAL activity.
No evidence from the eastern Mediterranean for a MIS 5e double peak sea-level highstand

Abstract To understand past and future sea-level variability, it is important to know if during an interglacial the eustatic sea level is constant or oscillates by several meters around an average value. Several field sites within and outside the tropics have been interpreted to suggest such oscillations during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e (129–116 ka). Here, we present our analysis of one such non-tropical site, Hergla, where a facies succession indicates two foreshore deposits above each other, previously interpreted as MIS 5e sea-level highstand amplified by a second rise. Our study, based on field, microfacies, and optical age Bayesian statistics shows a sea-level rise forming the upper foreshore strata that coincided with the global sea-level rise of the MIS 5a interstadial. The site does therefore not provide evidence for the MIS 5e double peak. We conclude from our analysis that the facies-based proxy is insensitive to small-scale sea-level oscillation. Likewise, uncertainties associated with age estimates are too large to robustly infer a short-term sea-level change.
Global Stochastic Optimization with Low-Dispersion Point Sets

This study concerns a generic model-free stochastic optimization problem requiring the minimization of a risk function defined on a given bounded domain in a Euclidean space. Smoothness assumptions regarding the risk function are hypothesized, and members of the underlying space of probabilities are presumed subject to a large deviation principle; however, the risk function may well be nonconvex and multimodal. A general approach to finding the risk minimizer on the basis of decision/observation pairs is proposed. It consists of repeatedly observing pairs over a collection of design points. Principles are derived for choosing the number of these design points on the basis of an observation budget, and for allocating the observations between these points in both prescheduled and adaptive settings. On the basis of these principles, large-deviation type bounds of the minimizer in terms of sample size are established.
Choosing with confidence: Self-efficacy and preferences for choice

Previous research on the role of choice set size in decision making has focused on decision outcomes and satisfaction. In contrast, little is known about interindividual differences in preferences for larger versus smaller choice sets, let alone the causes of such differences. Drawing on self-efficacy theory, two studies examined the role of decision-making self-efficacy in preferences for choice. Using a correlational approach, Study 1 (n = 89) found that decision-making self-efficacy was positively associated with preferences for choice across a range of consumer decisions. This association was found both between- and within-subjects. Study 2 (n = 65) experimentally manipulated decision-making self-efficacy for an incentive-compatible choice among photo printers. Preferences for choice and pre-choice information seeking were significantly lower in a low-efficacy condition compared to a high-efficacy condition and a control group. Future research directions and implications for decision-making theory and public policy are discussed.
The impact of wealth on consumption and retirement behaviour in the UK

Housing and pension wealth are shown to be important determinants of personal sector consumption and retirement behaviour in the UK. Housing and state pension wealth have a positive effect on consumption, while private pension wealth promotes greater savings. Greater private defined benefit pension wealth encourages earlier retirement, while greater defined contribution pension wealth has the effect of delaying retirement. State pension wealth appears to have no effect on the retirement decision. Other variables relating to income, labour market and demographic status and spillovers from other sectors are also shown to be important. The consumption equation forecasts the late 1980s boom and the early 1990s slump in the UK better than other models that disregard housing and pension wealth. A particularly important cause of the boom was the huge private pension fund surpluses that accrued as a result of the stock market boom of the 1980s.
Assessment of total columnar ozone climatological trends over the Indian sub-continent

ABSTRACT In the present study, long term satellite and Dobson spectrophotometer Total Column Ozone (TCO) data have been used to study the interannual variability and also to assess climatological trends in TCO over different geographical locations of Indian sub-continent. TCO data were analyzed for the period 1957 to 2015 over New Delhi (28.63° N, 77.18° E), Varanasi (25.30° N, 83.02° E), Pune (18.53° N, 73.84° E) and Kodaikanal (10.0° N, 77.47° E). An extensive validation was performed for Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) retrieved TCO data independently with Dobson Spectrophotometer TCO measurements over New Delhi, Varanasi, Pune and Kodaikanal. The results of this exercise showed good correlation coefficient (r) of 0.87 (0.88), 0.84 (0.82), 0.91 (0.80) and 0.84 (Data not available) respectively. Climatological mean TCO over New Delhi, Varanasi, Pune and Kodaikanal are 275.02 ± 6.44 DU, 269.03 ± 7.34 DU, 260.78 ± 5.07 DU and 258.71 ± 6.36 DU respectively for the period 1957 to 2015. An increasing trend over New Delhi (0.20 DU year–1), Pune (0.18 DU year–1), Kodaikanal (0.14 DU year–1) and decreasing trend over Varanasi (0.01 DU year–1) were observed. High significance of TCO trend was found at New Delhi (p-value < 0.0001), Pune (p-value = 0.002) and Kodaikanal (p-value = 0.003) with negligible trend over Varanasi with p-value of 0.84. The TCO variations at different geographical locations associated with upper atmospheric meteorological parameters such as lower Stratospheric Temperature (ST) at 65 hPa and Tropopause Height (TH) were also addressed. Annual lower stratospheric temperature shows positive relationship with TCO and Stratospheric ozone over the study sites. Further, decadal variability in TCO with respect to solar activity at New Delhi was also analyzed.