Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of gabapentin on muscle spasticity and both induced as well as spontaneous autonomic dysreflexia after complete spinal cord injury

We recently reported that the neuropathic pain medication, gabapentin (GBP; Neurontin), significantly attenuated both noxious colorectal distension (CRD)-induced autonomic dysreflexia (AD) and tail pinch-induced spasticity compared to saline-treated cohorts 2–3 weeks after complete high thoracic (T4) spinal cord injury (SCI). Here we employed long-term blood pressure telemetry to test, firstly, the efficacy of daily versus acute GBP treatment in modulating AD and tail spasticity in response to noxious stimuli at 2 and 3 weeks post-injury. Secondly, we determined whether daily GBP alters baseline cardiovascular parameters, as well as spontaneous AD events detected using a novel algorithm based on blood pressure telemetry data. At both 14 and 21 days after SCI, irrespective of daily treatment, acute GBP given 1 h prior to stimulus significantly attenuated CRD-induced AD and pinch-evoked tail spasticity; conversely, acute saline had no such effects. Moreover, daily GBP did not alter 24 h mean arterial pressure (MAP) or heart rate (HR) values compared to saline treatment, nor did it reduce the incidence of spontaneous AD events compared to saline over the three week assessment period. Power spectral density (PSD) analysis of the MAP signals demonstrated relative power losses in mid frequency ranges (0.2–0.8 Hz) for all injured animals relative to low frequency MAP power (0.02–0.08 Hz). However, there was no significant difference between groups over time post-injury; hence, GBP had no effect on the persistent loss of MAP fluctuations in the mid frequency range after injury. In summary, the mechanism(s) by which acute GBP treatment mitigate aberrant somatosensory and cardiophysiological responses to noxious stimuli after SCI remain unclear. Nevertheless, with further refinements in defining the dynamics associated with AD events, such as eliminating requisite concomitant bradycardia, the objective repeatability of automatic detection of hypertensive crises provides a potentially useful tool for assessing autonomic function pre- and post-SCI, in conjunction with experimental pharmacotherapeutics for neuropathic pain, such as GBP.
Diffuse interstellar bands near 9600 A: not due to C60 + yet

High spectral resolution studies of the two Diffuse Interstellar Bands (DIB) previously assigned to C60 + (9577 and 9632) conrm that these DIBs have the same full-width- at-half-maximum and behave similarly in dense cloud environ- ments where the DIBs are weakened relative to the diffuse interstellar medium. Their relative strength, however, is less than previously reported and differs from the relative intensities measured from matrix isolation spectroscopy. A simultaneous search for the two laboratory derived vibronic tranistions of C60 + at about 9366 and 9419 A has not lead to the detection of the two weak counterparts stronger than 15% of 9577. We concludethatforthediffusebandspectrumtobeconsistentwith C60 + , not only the measured band positions have to be slightly different in the gas-phase, but also the relative intensity of the two main lines has to differ signicantly from that of the known laboratory data.
Feature selection for ordinal regression

Ordinal regression (also known as ordinal classification) is a supervised learning task that consists of automatically determining the implied rating of a data item on a fixed, discrete rating scale. This problem is receiving increasing attention from the sentiment analysis and opinion mining community, due to the importance of automatically rating increasing amounts of product review data in digital form. As in other supervised learning tasks such as (binary or multiclass) classification, feature selection is needed in order to improve efficiency and to avoid overfitting. However, while feature selection has been extensively studied for other classification tasks, is has not for ordinal regression. In this paper we present four novel feature selection metrics that we have specifically devised for ordinal regression, and test them on two datasets of product review data.
An Example of Analyzing the Characteristics of a Large Scale ISP Topology Measured from Multiple Vantage Points

A detailed understanding of the structural properties of Internet topology will benefit the further design and development of the Internet. It seems infeasible to study the whole Internet at router level due to its extremely large size and the difficulty in obtaining a whole topology at this level. Studying each national or continental Internet service provider (ISP) topology individually becomes an alternative method for this goal. In this paper, the measured China Education and Research Network topology, a nationwide ISP topology, is basically taken as an example. The results of mapping the topology from multiple vantage points are briefly presented. The properties of the degree distribution, large eigenvalues, and the spectral density of the measured topology graphs are analyzed. The characteristics of the signless Laplacian spectra (SLS), the normalized Laplacian spectra (NLS), and the clustering coefficients of the measured graphs are also presented. The results suggest that some power laws indeed hold in some large-scale ISP topologies; in contrast to the case of autonomous system level topologies, the power law fit is not the best choice for some ISP topologies in terms of the complementary cumulative distribution function of the degree; some real ISP topologies are a kind of scale-free graphs which are not consistent with the Barabasi-Albert (BA) growth model; router level topologies are distinguishable in terms of the SLS or the NLS; router level Internet topology may have developed over time following a different set of growth processes from those of the BA model.
Is money irrelevant

ANY economists recently have been claiming that money has little or no effect on inflation and economic activity. For example, Lyle E. GramIcy, past governor of the Federal Reserve Board, has been quoted as saying the relationship between growth of the economy and the growth of the morley supply is just no longer there. ” Meanwhile, even a noted monetarist such as Beiyl W. Sprinkel, the current chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, says: “It’s a problem. Nobody knows where we ai’e going. ”
A Comparison of the Autocorrelation and Variance of NFL Team Strengths Over Time using a Bayesian State-Space Model

Abstract Professional sports leagues are motivated to promote competitive balance in order to maintain fan interest. The National Football League (NFL) has taken several steps to promote competitive balance, most notably free agency and the salary cap, which were instituted prior to the 1994 season. Previous research into competitive balance in sports focused on the variability of team strengths but ignored the year-to-year autocorrelation in team strengths. We present a Bayesian state-space model for paired comparisons that allows regression on the variance parameters. By modeling the variance parameters in a regression framework, we are able to simultaneously compare the variance and autocorrelation in team strengths over time. The autocorrelation of NFL team strengths has decreased over time while there has been little change in the variance in teams strengths since the 1970s.
The spiral galaxy M33 mapped in the FIR by ISOPHOT. A spatially resolved study of the warm and cold dust.

The Sc galaxy M 33 has been mapped with ISOPHOT in the far-infrared, at 60, 100, and 170 µm. The spatial resolution of these FIR maps allows the separation of spiral arms and interarm regions and the isolation of a large number of star-forming regions. The spectral energy distribution in the FIR indicates a superposition of two components, a warm one originating from dust at ∼45 K, and a cold one, at ∼16 K. The warm component is concentrated towards the spiral arms and the star-forming regions, and is likely heated by the UV radiation from OB stars. The cold component is more smoothly distributed over the disk, and heated by the diffuse interstellar radiation. For the about 60 star-forming regions detected the Hα/FIR flux ratio increases significantly with the distance from the galaxy center, probably due to decreasing extinction. An anti-correlation of FHa/F60 with F170 suggests the intrinsic extinction to be related to the cold dust surface brightness according to AV /S 170 ∼ 0.03 mag MJy −1 sr. For the total galaxy the star formation rate (SFR) derived from the FIR is in agreement with that derived from the de-extincted Hα emission. For individual star-forming regions, a consistency between SFRs derived from the optical and from the FIR requires only a fraction of the UV radiation to be absorbed locally. The individual star-forming regions also show a local radio-FIR correlation. This local correlation is, however, due to quite different components than to those that lead to the well-known global radio-FIR correlation for entire galaxies.
This computer responds to user frustration

A human-computer interaction (HCI) agent was designed and built to support users in their ability to recover from negative emotional states, particularly frustration. The agent uses social-affective feedback strategies delivered to the user with text-only interaction. The agent's effectiveness was evaluated against two control conditions: (1) user's emotions were ignored, and (2) users were able to report problems and "vent" their feelings and thoughts to the computer. Behavioral results showed that the agent was significantly more effective than the control conditions in helping relieve frustration levels.
Facilitation of Sexual Behavior and Enhanced Dopamine Efflux in the Nucleus Accumbens of Male Rats afterd-Amphetamine-Induced Behavioral Sensitization

Behavioral sensitization caused by repeated and intermittent administration of psychostimulants, such as cocaine andd-amphetamine, is accompanied by enhanced function in limbic-motor circuitry that is involved in the generation of motivated behavior. The present microdialysis study investigated the effect ofd-amphetamine-induced sensitization on dopamine (DA) efflux in the nucleus accumbens (NAC) of male rats during sexual behavior. Male rats were given one injection of d-amphetamine (1.5 mg/kg, i.p.) or saline every other day for a total of 10 injections. Three weeks after discontinuation of drug treatment, rats were tested for sexual behavior during a test in which microdialysis was performed. There was an augmented efflux of DA in the NAC ofd-amphetamine-sensitized rats compared with nonsensitized control rats when a receptive female was present behind a screen (35 vs 17%). Sensitized rats exhibited facilitated sexual behavior when the screen was removed, as indicated by a significantly shorter latency to mount and an overall increase in the amount of copulatory behavior. Although there was a significant increase in NAC DA concentrations from baseline in both sensitized and nonsensitized rats during copulation, there was a greater increase in DA efflux in the NAC of sensitized rats during the first 10 min copulatory sample (60 vs 37%). These results demonstrate that behavioral sensitization caused by repeated psychostimulant administration can “cross-sensitize” to a natural behavior, such as sex, and that increased NAC DA release may contribute to the facilitation of appetitive and consummatory aspects of this behavior.
Dropout in an Online Training for Trainee Teachers

Abstract High dropout rates are still a problem with online training. It is strongly suggested that learner characteristics influence the decision to persist in an online course or to drop out. The study explored the differences in domain-specific prior knowledge, motivation, computer attitude, computer anxiety, and learning skills between dropouts and active learners who enrolled in a vocational online training about media pedagogy for teachers. The data were collected from 575 trainee teachers from which three groups were formed: (a) students who only registered (n = 72) and (b) students who started learning but failed to complete any of the course modules (n = 124) and (c) active students who completed at least one module (n = 379). A dropout rate of 34.1% was observed. In general, only small effects were found. Students dropping out were older, had less prior knowledge, and lower skills in arranging an adequate learning environment.
Pre- and Postnatal Determinants of Deciduous Molar Hypomineralisation in 6-Year-Old Children. The Generation R Study

Background Deciduous Molar Hypomineralisation (DMH) and Molar Incisor Hypomineralisation (MIH) are common developmental disturbances in pediatric dentistry. Their occurrence is related. The same determinants as suggested for MIH are expected for DMH, though somewhat earlier in life. Perinatal medical problems may influence the prevalence of DMH but this has not been studied sufficiently. Objective This study aimed to identify possible determinants of DMH in a prospective cohort study among 6-year-old children. Study Design This study was embedded in the Generation R Study, a population-based prospective cohort study from fetal life until young adulthood. The the data were used to identify the determinants of DMH. Clinical photographs of clean, moist teeth were taken with an intra-oral camera in 6690 children (mean age 6.2 years; 49.9% girls). Data on possible determinants that had occurred during pregnancy and/or the child's first year of life were on the basis of manual standardized measurements (like length and weight) and questionnaires. Multivariate analyse with backward and forward selection was performed. Results A number of factors in the pre-, peri- and postnatal phase were found to be associated with DMH. After multivariate logistic regression analyses, Dutch ethnic background, low birth weight, maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy, and fever episodes in the first year of the child's life were found to play a role in the development of DMH in 6-year-old children. Conclusion This study shows that Dutch ethnicity, low birth weight, alcohol consumption by the mother during pregnancy and any fever in the first year of the child's life are associated with DMH. Not only childhood factors but also prenatal lifestyle factors need to be taken into account when studying determinants for DMH.
Trigonometric parallaxes of high velocity halo white dwarf candidates

The status of 38 halo white dwarf candidates identified by Oppenheimer et al. (2001) has been intensively discussed by various authors. In analyses undertaken to date, trigonometric parallaxes are crucial missing data. Distance measurements are mandatory to kinematically segregate halo object from disk objects and hence enable a more reliable estimate of the local density of halo dark matter residing in such objects. We present trigonometric parallax measurements for 15 candidate halo white dwarfs (WDs) selected from the Oppenheimer et al. (2001) list. We observed the stars using the ESO 1.56-m Danish Telescope and ESO 2.2-m telescope from August 2001 to July 2004. Parallaxes with accuracies of 1--2 mas were determined yielding relative errors on distances of $\sim5$% for 6 objects, $\sim12$% for 3 objects, and $\sim20$% for two more objects. Four stars appear to be too distant (probably farther than 100 pc) to have measurable parallaxes in our observations. Distances, absolute magnitudes and revised space velocities were derived for the 15 halo WDs from the Oppenheimer et al. (2001) list. Halo membership is confirmed unambiguously for 6 objects while 5 objects may be thick disk members and 4 objects are too distant to draw any conclusion based solely on kinematics. Comparing our trigonometric parallaxes with photometric parallaxes used in previous work reveals an overestimation of distance as derived from photometric techniques. This new data set can be used to revise the halo white dwarf space density, and that analysis will be presented in a subsequent publication.
Effects of Ship Motion on Ship Maneuvering in Waves

Ship maneuvering performance is typically predicted in calm water conditions. This provides very valuable information at the initial ship design stage. However, since the ship always sails in waves, the maneuvering performance of the ship in seaway may be significantly different from calm water condition. Therefore, if the effect of waves and the corresponding motion responses can be included in mathematical model, the estimation will be much more reliable. In order to predict maneuvering performance of ship in waves, some simplified mathematical models have been developed by several researchers. McCreight(1986) developed a nonlinear maneuvering model in waves, which the hydrodynamic force related to wave-induced motion such as wave exciting forces, added mass and wave damping are evaluated in a body-fixed coordinate system by using the strip method. Fang et al.(2005) developed a mathematical model to calculate the hydrodynamic forces depending on encounter frequency in time domain simulation. However, these models did not consider the 2nd-order wave drift forces. Recently, the 2nd-order wave effect was considered more accurately by Skejic and Faltinsen(2008). In order to calculate the 2nd-order wave drift force, they proposed a two-time-scale model that separated low-frequency motion(maneuvering motion) and high-frequency motion(seakeeping motion). The above methods adopted 2D strip method to calculate wave induced motion. Recently, Lin(2006) estimated the ship maneuvering performance in waves using a 3D panel method. The nonlinear ship motion program, LAMP(Large Amplitude Motion Program), was extended to ship maneuvering problem. In the present study, maneuvering performance in waves is calculated using the time-domain nonlinear ship motion program WISH(Wave Induced load and SHip motion analysis) which applies a B-spline Rankine panel method. In this study, WISH has been extended to two main parts: the extensions to large lateral motions and the integration of seakeeping and maneuvering problems. To this end, the 2nd-order wave drift force is calculated using direct pressure integration method, and the MMG model is cooperated with the seakeeping model. The developed computer program is verified through the comparison with published experiment data, e.g. turning test of S-175 containership in calm water and in waves. Computational results show good correspondence with the experiment.
Tertiary Teachers Learning About Teaching: Integrating Theoretical and Practical Knowledge

This paper reports an investigation into the knowledge development of a group of tertiary teachers who participated in a postgraduate course on teaching and learning. Through interviews of participants, observations of participants’ teaching, and an examination of the course and its implementation, it was shown that the course served primarily to affirm participants’ current knowledge about teaching, and to extend their ability to articulate ‘why they do what they do’. However, evidence showed that the course did not necessarily enhance participants’ ability to translate theoretical knowledge into practical knowledge. The study highlighted the necessity to acknowledge the practicality of teaching as core to the nature of learning about teaching and led to implications about the content and processes of such courses and their application within professional development experiences for tertiary teachers.
On the relation between the radial alignment of dark matter subhaloes and host mass in cosmological simulations

We explore the dependence of the radial alignment of subhaloes on the mass of the host halo they orbit in. As the effect is seen on a broad range of scales including massive clusters as well as galactic systems it only appears natural to explore this phenomenon by means of cosmological simulations covering the same range in masses. We have 25 well resolved host dark matter haloes at our disposal ranging from 1015 h−1 M⊙ down to 1012 h−1 M⊙ each consisting of order of a couple of million particles within the virial radius. We observe that subhaloes tend to be more spherical than isolated objects. Both the distributions of sphericity and triaxiality of subhaloes are Gaussian-distributed with peak values of 〈s〉≈ 0.80 and 〈T〉≈ 0.56, irrespective of host mass. Interestingly, we note that the radial alignment is independent of host halo mass and the distribution of cos θ (i.e. the angle between the major-axis Ea of each subhalo and the radius vector of the subhalo in the reference frame of the host) is well fitted by a simple power law P(cos θ) ∝ cos4θ with the same fitting parameters for all host haloes.
Barcelona Economics Working Paper Series Finite Mixture Analysis of Beauty- Contest Data Using Generalised Beta Distributions a Finite Mixture Analysis of Beauty-contest Data Using Generalized Beta Distributions *

* We thank the editor and two referees for insightful comments that helped improve the manuscript. Abstract This paper introduces a mixture model based on the beta distribution, without pre-established means and variances, to analyze a large set of Beauty-Contest data obtained from diverse groups of experiments (Bosch-Domènech et al. 2002). This model gives a better fit of the experimental data, and more precision to the hypothesis that a large proportion of individuals follow a common pattern of reasoning, described as iterated best reply (degenerate), than mixture models based on the normal distribution. The analysis shows that the means of the distributions across the groups of experiments are pretty stable, while the proportions of choices at different levels of reasoning vary across groups.
Firm Value, Free Cash Flow and Financing Decisions: Evidence from Japan

Using Japanese firm data, this paper examines the relationship between firm value and financing decision factors within a free cash flow (FCF) framework. The findings are broadly consistent with the positive tax benefits hypothesis. We find that in firms leverage is positively related to firm value and dividends are negatively related to firm value during the sample period, 1985 to 1996. The result is contrary to the recent study on US firms conducted by Fama and French (1998). We also find that net investment outflows (NIF) are found to capture information on expected profits not captured by net operating cash flows (NOF). No significant differences in the relationship between the growth rate of firm value and leverage and dividends are found over the “bubble” economy periods in the 1980s or over the adjustment periods in the 1990s. JEL classification: G320