Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cosmic Shear from Galaxy Spins

We discuss the origin of galactic angular momentum and the statistics of the present-day spin distribution. It is expected that the galaxy spin axes are correlated with the intermediate principal axis of the gravitational shear tensor. This allows one to reconstruct the shear field and thereby the full gravitational potential from the observed galaxy spin fields. We use the direction of the angular momentum vector without any information of its magnitude, which requires a measurement of the position angle and inclination on the sky of each disk galaxy. We present the maximum likelihood shear inversion procedure, which involves a constrained linear minimization. The theory is tested against numerical simulations. We find the correlation strength of nonlinear structures with the initial shear field and show that accurate large-scale density reconstructions are possible at the expected noise level.
Matrix Manifold Optimization for Gaussian Mixtures

We take a new look at parameter estimation for Gaussian Mixture Model (GMMs). Specifically, we advance Riemannian manifold optimization (on the manifold of positive definite matrices) as a potential replacement for Expectation Maximization (EM), which has been the de facto standard for decades. An out-of-the-box invocation of Riemannian optimization, however, fails spectacularly: it obtains the same solution as EM, but vastly slower. Building on intuition from geometric convexity, we propose a simple reformulation that has remarkable consequences: it makes Riemannian optimization not only match EM (a nontrivial result on its own, given the poor record nonlinear programming has had against EM), but also outperforms it in many settings. To bring our ideas to fruition, we develop a well-tuned Riemannian LBFGS method that proves superior to known competing methods (e.g., Riemannian conjugate gradient). We hope that our results encourage a wider consideration of manifold optimization in machine learning and statistics.
Dynamic optical-network architectures and technologies for existing and emerging grid services

This paper presents solutions towards an efficient and intelligent network infrastructure for Grid services, taking advantage of recent developments in optical-networking technologies. Two lambda-Grid network architectures based on extensions to existing wavelength-switched network infrastructure are discussed. These network solutions aim to provide a user-centric Grid environment, specifically for data-intensive and e-science applications. Furthermore, a novel solution towards an intelligent and ubiquitous photonic-Grid network based on optical burst switching (OBS) is proposed. The proposed solution utilizes active optical burst-switched routers and advanced protocols in order to provide a programmable photonic-Grid network infrastructure for evolving data-intensive and emerging Grid applications.
Challenges for heart disease stem cell therapy

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide. The use of stem cells to improve recovery of the injured heart after myocardial infarction (MI) is an important emerging therapeutic strategy. However, recent reviews of clinical trials of stem cell therapy for MI and ischemic heart disease recovery report that less than half of the trials found only small improvements in cardiac function. In clinical trials, bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood cells were used as the source of stem cells delivered by intracoronary infusion. Some trials administered only a stem cell mobilizing agent that recruits endogenous sources of stem cells. Important challenges to improve the effectiveness of stem cell therapy for CVD include: (1) improved identification, recruitment, and expansion of autologous stem cells; (2) identification of mobilizing and homing agents that increase recruitment; and (3) development of strategies to improve stem cell survival and engraftment of both endogenous and exogenous sources of stem cells. This review is an overview of stem cell therapy for CVD and discusses the challenges these three areas present for maximum optimization of the efficacy of stem cell therapy for heart disease, and new strategies in progress.
Idiosyncratic Risk and Returns in International Equity Markets

The traditional mean-variance asset pricing approach posits that in equilibrium only market risk matters. This study finds counterevidence in international equity markets. Specifically, this paper shows that average idiosyncratic volatility predicts world premium. Marginal investors appear to endure idiosyncratic risk, view idiosyncratic risk as a relevant component of risk, and demand a risk premium for bearing the risk. This study then extends the analysis to individual national markets. The results show that a large number of national markets have significant exposures to the mimicking portfolio of individual idiosyncratic volatility. The distribution of the exposures suggests that location may play an important role in pricing idiosyncratic risk.
Classification of Double Deficit Groups Across Time: An Analysis of Group Stability From Kindergarten to Second Grade

The Double Deficit Hypothesis of dyslexia is one approach to classifying students with reading disabilities. The theory offers four distinct groups of readers: (a) average readers, (b) students with phonological deficits, (c) students with naming speed deficits, and (d) students with double deficits: those having both (b) and (c). This study examines the stability of these groups from kindergarten to second grade. An initial sample of 214 students were tested at four time points on measures of rapid automatized naming, phonological awareness, and reading. Latent transition analyses were used to examine the stability of these groups over time. These analyses indicated moderate stability from kindergarten to second grade with the probability of movement between groups being higher in kindergarten and early first grade. The groups differed in reading achievement at each testing time, with the double deficit group obtaining the lowest scores. Implications for early assessment and intervention are discussed.
Ultimate tensorization: compressing convolutional and FC layers alike

Convolutional neural networks excel in image recognition tasks, but this comes at the cost of high computational and memory complexity. To tackle this problem, [1] developed a tensor factorization framework to compress fully-connected layers. In this paper, we focus on compressing convolutional layers. We show that while the direct application of the tensor framework [1] to the 4-dimensional kernel of convolution does compress the layer, we can do better. We reshape the convolutional kernel into a tensor of higher order and factorize it. We combine the proposed approach with the previous work to compress both convolutional and fully-connected layers of a network and achieve 80x network compression rate with 1.1% accuracy drop on the CIFAR-10 dataset.
Preparation and characterization of fine powdered whole soybean curd

[Purpose] Efficacy and comparative characteristics of fine powdered whole soybean curd. [Methods] Ground dried soybean to a fine powder (700 mesh) containing bean components in its entirety, and then produced whole soybean curd. Analysed its nutritive components, bioactive substances, antioxidant activities and texture compared with pressed soybean curd. [Results] Compared with pressed soybean curd, the nutrients and isoflavone in whole soybean curd were slightly decreased, but antioxidant activities, dietary fibers and moisture content were increased. Also, the yield rate of the total process was improved 1.9 times. [Conclusion] Fine powdered whole bean curd has antioxidant effects, contains dietary fiber and possesses soft characteristics, hence has development potential in the diet market and as food for patients.
Spatial organisation: development, structure and approximation of geographical systems.

Various issues concerning spatial organisation as a theoretical construct are discussed in this paper. Some basics of the theoretical background and a literature review on the subject matter, not aspiring to completeness, are provided. Three thematically-related research projects, which are currently underway in conjunction with several Czech academic and scientific institutions, are then presented. These projects are concerned with issues of a spatial organisation of geographical systems from the human geographical point of view. Each project is then discussed with respect to both theoretical-methodological bases, as well as presentation of some of the research results.
Doubly hybrid density functional for accurate descriptions of nonbond interactions, thermochemistry, and thermochemical kinetics

We develop and validate a density functional, XYG3, based on the adiabatic connection formalism and the Görling–Levy coupling-constant perturbation expansion to the second order (PT2). XYG3 is a doubly hybrid functional, containing 3 mixing parameters. It has a nonlocal orbital-dependent component in the exchange term (exact exchange) plus information about the unoccupied Kohn–Sham orbitals in the correlation part (PT2 double excitation). XYG3 is remarkably accurate for thermochemistry, reaction barrier heights, and nonbond interactions of main group molecules. In addition, the accuracy remains nearly constant with system size.
Short-term power load forecasting based on SVM

Short-term load is random and variable with many influence factors that are difficult to establish function relationship between power load. In this paper, the advantages and disadvantages of three commonly used short-term power load forecasting methods are compared based on the analysis of load characteristics, then a conclusion is drawn that support vector machine method, which can reflect several important characteristics of load and model the nonlinear relationship between load sequence and influence factors, is practical short-term for power load forecasting. Next, the steps for short-term power load forecasting are expatiated. Finally, A experiment of daily load forecasting of an area in Hubei is presented, which shows that the forecasting result based on support vector machine is better than those of others methods.
The nature of the molecular gas system in the core of NGC 1275

We present near-infrared integral field spectroscopy of the central kiloparsec of NGC 1275 at the heart of the Perseus cluster of galaxies, obtained with the Integral Field Unit (IFU) of the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) Imaging Spectrometer (UIST). The nuclear rovibrational H 2 emission is spatially resolved and is likely to originate approximately 50 pc from the active nucleus. The Paα emission is, by contrast, spatially unresolved. The requirements for thermal excitation of the H 2 by nuclear X-radiation, its kinematics on subarcsec scales and its stability against self-gravity together suggest that the observed H 2 is part of a clumpy disc rotating about the radio-jet axis. The sharp jump in the H 2 velocity across the nucleus implies a black hole mass of 3.4 x 10 8 M ○. , with a systematic error of ±0.18 dex due to the uncertainty in the radio-jet inclination. This agrees well with the value implied by the empirical correlation between black hole mass and stellar velocity dispersion for nearby elliptical galaxies, and is ∼100 times the stellar mass in this region.
Concurrent Fast and Slow Cycling of a Transcriptional Activator at an Endogenous Promoter

For gene regulation, some transcriptional activators bind periodically to promoters with either a fast (∼1 minute) or a slow (∼15 to 90 minutes) cycle. It is uncertain whether the fast cycle occurs on natural promoters, and the function of either cycle in transcription remains unclear. We report that fast and slow cycling can occur simultaneously on an endogenous yeast promoter and that slow cycling in this system reflects an oscillation in the fraction of accessible promoters rather than the recruitment and release of stably bound transcriptional activators. This observation, combined with single-cell measurements of messenger RNA (mRNA) production, argues that fast cycling initiates transcription and that slow cycling regulates the quantity of mRNA produced. These findings counter the prevailing view that slow cycling initiates transcription.
Obstetric outcomes of human herpes virus-2 infection among pregnant women in Benin, Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE This study investigated the obstetric outcomes of herpes simplex virus (HSV-2) infection among pregnant women. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this prospective cohort study, a total of 674 consenting pregnant women attending ante-natal clinic in the University of Benin Teaching Hospital and Central Hospital Benin were recruited between November 2011 and December, 2012. The women were screened for HSV-1, and HSV-2 using glycoprotein-G-based type-specific Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay on archived blood samples; and were followed up to the delivery period and postnatal clinic. The HSV-2-seronegative participants underwent second blood sampling for HSV-2 IgG and IgM assay during the delivery period. The patients were thus categorized into "HSV-2 seropositive", "HSV-2-seronegative," and "incident HSV-2 infection" cohorts. The pregnancy outcomes were assessed by review of hospital records. Data analysis was with SPSS version 16 software. RESULTS Of 674 pregnant women surveyed, 312 (46.3%) were HSV-2 seropositive; while 362 (56.7%) were HSV-2 seronegative. Comparing the "HSV-2 seropositive" and "HSV-seronegative" groups, there were no significant differences in occurrence of low birth weight (LBW), prematurity, spontaneous abortions, and stillbirth events (P=0.96; 0.95; 1.0; and 0.77, respectively). Comparing the "incident HSV-2 infection" with the "HSV-2 seronegative" groups, the relative risks of occurrence of LBW deliveries, preterm deliveries, and stillbirths were 12.6, 25.1, and 4.5, respectively. CONCLUSION First episode HSV-2 infection among pregnant women in Benin, Nigeria is associated with an increased risk of occurrence of spontaneous abortion, LBW delivery, stillbirths, and preterm delivery.
Principles for User Design of Customized Products

User design is a particular form of product customization that allows the customer to specify the properties of a product. User design has emerged as a mechanism to build brand loyalty, to fit products to the heterogeneous needs of a market, and to differentiate the offerings of a manufacturer. However, many consumers face daunting challenges in designing a product that fits their personal needs. This makes it essential for producers of customized goods and services to create user interfaces that are effective in supporting consumers in the user design process. This article defines the fundamental information-processing problem associated with user design of customized products and articulates five principles of user design. It then outlines actions that can be taken to improve user design systems.
Proteolytic Processing of the Alzheimer’s Disease Amyloid Precursor Protein within Its Cytoplasmic Domain by Caspase-like Proteases*

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by neurodegeneration and deposition of βA4, a peptide that is proteolytically released from the amyloid precursor protein (APP). Missense mutations in the genes coding for APP and for the polytopic membrane proteins presenilin (PS) 1 and PS2 have been linked to familial forms of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Overexpression of presenilins, especially that of PS2, induces increased susceptibility for apoptosis that is even more pronounced in cells expressing presenilin mutants. Additionally, presenilins themselves are targets for activated caspases in apoptotic cells. When we analyzed APP in COS-7 cells overexpressing PS2, we observed proteolytic processing close to the APP carboxyl terminus. Proteolytic conversion was increased in the presence of PS2-I, which encodes one of the known PS2 pathogenic mutations. The same proteolytic processing occurred in cells treated with chemical inducers of apoptosis, suggesting a participation of activated caspases in the carboxyl-terminal truncation of APP. This was confirmed by showing that specific caspase inhibitors blocked the apoptotic conversion of APP. Sequence analysis of the APP cytosolic domain revealed a consensus motif for group III caspases ((IVL)ExD). Mutation of the corresponding Asp664 residue abolished cleavage, thereby identifying APP as a target molecule for caspase-like proteases in the pathways of programmed cellular death.
Diabetes Adversely Affects Macrophages During Atherosclerotic Plaque Regression in Mice

OBJECTIVE Patients with diabetes have increased cardiovascular risk. Atherosclerosis in these patients is often associated with increased plaque macrophages and dyslipidemia. We hypothesized that diabetic atherosclerosis involves processes that impair favorable effects of lipid reduction on plaque macrophages. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Reversa mice are LDL receptor–deficient mice that develop atherosclerosis. Their elevated plasma LDL levels are lowered after conditional knockout of the gene encoding microsomal triglyceride transfer protein. We examined the morphologic and molecular changes in atherosclerotic plaques in control and streptozotocin-induced diabetic Reversa mice after LDL lowering. Bone marrow–derived macrophages were also used to study changes mediated by hyperglycemia. RESULTS Reversa mice were fed a western diet for 16 weeks to develop plaques (baseline). Four weeks after lipid normalization, control (nondiabetic) mice had reduced plasma cholesterol (−77%), plaque cholesterol (−53%), and plaque cells positive for macrophage marker CD68+ (−73%), but increased plaque collagen (+116%) compared with baseline mice. Diabetic mice had similarly reduced plasma cholesterol, but collagen content increased by only 34% compared with baseline; compared with control mice, there were lower reductions in plaque cholesterol (−30%) and CD68+ cells (−41%). Diabetic (vs. control) plaque CD68+ cells also exhibited more oxidant stress and inflammatory gene expression and less polarization toward the anti-inflammatory M2 macrophage state. Many of the findings in vivo were recapitulated by hyperglycemia in mouse bone marrow–derived macrophages. CONCLUSIONS Diabetes hindered plaque regression in atherosclerotic mice (based on CD68+ plaque content) and favorable changes in plaque macrophage characteristics after the reduction of elevated plasma LDL.
The Mechanisms and Outcomes of Evaluation Influence on Behalf Of: the Mechanisms and Outcomes of Evaluation Influence Current Theories of Use

Past literature has identified several putative precursors of use, as well as alternative forms of use. However, important shortcomings still exist in previous work on use. In particular, inadequate attention has been given to the underlying processes that may mediate the effects of evaluation on attitude and action. In essence, a key part of the theory of change for evaluation itself is missing. To help fill this gap, we describe a framework designed to capture key mechanisms through which evaluation may have its effects. The framework includes change processes that have been validated in various social science literatures. It identifies three levels of analysis (individual, interpersonal and collective), each with four kinds of processes (general influence, attitudinal, motivational and behavioral). With a more comprehensive view of the mechanisms underlying evaluation's influence, the field can move forward in relation to its understanding and facilitation of evaluation's role in the service of social betterment. Evaluation is closely tied to the types of programs, policies and practices that affect people's lives, but is itself one step removed from the direct action of these endeavors; therefore most evaluators are drawn to the topic of use. 1 Use is the link between the day-today work of evaluation, on the one hand and those activities that could actually improve the lives of program participants and society, on the other. Concern about use has generated perhaps more empirical research on evaluation than any other topic (e.g. theoretical and conceptual work on use has also occurred, leading to a variety of distinctions among types of use, such as instrumental use, conceptual use, symbolic use, process use and misuse (e.g. Originally, the evaluation literature was dominated by the idea of direct instrumental use: the notion that evaluation findings would lead to immediate and specific actions such as program continuation, expansion, revision or termination (Caracelli, 2000). Now, under the umbrella of use, evaluation theorists include a diverse range of possibilities, such as conceptual, symbolic and process use, as well as misuse, in addition to direct instrumental use, refers not to immediate decision making and action about the program or policy that was evaluated, but to more general learning that takes place as a result of evaluation. Symbolic use, an early concern in the literature, refers for example to the possibility that evaluation is used to justify a pre-existing position or simply to signify the purported rationality of an agency. More …
AN EXPLORATORY SEARCH FOR z ≳ 6 QUASARS IN THE UKIDSS EARLY DATA RELEASE

We conducted an exploratory search for quasars at z ∼ 6–8, using the Early Data Release (EDR) from the United Kingdom Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) cross-matched to panoramic optical imagery. High-redshift quasar candidates are chosen using multi-color selection in i, z, Y, J, H, and K bands. After removal of apparent instrumental artifacts, our candidate list consisted of 34 objects. We further refined this list with deeper imaging in the optical for ten of our candidates. Twenty-five candidates were followed up spectroscopically in the near-infrared and in the optical. We confirmed 25 of our spectra as very low-mass main-sequence stars or brown dwarfs, which were indeed expected as the main contaminants of this exploratory search. The lack of quasar detection is not surprising: the estimated probability of finding a single z > 6 quasar down to the limit of UKIDSS in 27.3 deg2 of the EDR is <5%. We find that the most important limiting factor in this work is the depth of the available optical data. Experience gained in this pilot project can help refine high-redshift quasar selection criteria for subsequent UKIDSS data releases.