Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detecting Dynamic Traffic Assignment Capacity Paradoxes: Analysis of Non-Saturated Networks

In Akamatsu and Heydecker (2003), we presented a necessary and sufficient condition for the occurrence of capacity paradoxes in general saturated networks, in which there is a queue on each link. The present paper extends that analysis to the more usual case of non-saturated networks, in which there are queues on some links but not on others. First we formulate dynamic user equilibrium (DUE) assignment in non-saturated networks. We then show how non-saturated networks can be reduced by direct network transformations to corresponding saturated ones in a way that will not affect occurrence of the capacity paradoxes: the reduced network, which is saturated, can then be tested for DUE assignment paradoxes to determine whether or not they will occur in the original one. This technique therefore yields a convenient method to examine whether or not the paradox occurs from information on the queuing patterns on the links of the network. Finally, as an application of the theory, we consider a range of example networks and associated applications, including investigation of a freeway ramp metering strategy. The analysis of these networks leads to an interesting finding: it is likely that in many situations metering or closing a freeway entrance ramp can play an effective role to reduce travel times not only on the freeway but also in the whole network including arterial streets.
Moving into a new software project landscape

When developers join a software development project, they find themselves in a project landscape, and they must become familiar with the various landscape features. To better understand the nature of project landscapes and the integration process, with a view to improving the experience of both newcomers and the people responsible for orienting them, we performed a grounded theory study with 18 newcomers across 18 projects. We identified the main features that characterize a project landscape, together with key orientation aids and obstacles, and we theorize that there are three primary factors that impact the integration experience of newcomers: early experimentation, internalizing structures and cultures, and progress validation.
INVESTMENT AND FINANCIAL DECISIONS UNDER UNCERTAINTY AND EXOGENOUS BORROWING RATE

A competitive firm which chooses the timing of investment and optimal volume of debt is considered. The price of the firm’s output follows the geometric Brownian motion or more general jump-diffusion processes, and the firm takes an arbitrage free borrowing rate as given. The optimal timing of investment and volume of debt is computed, and it is shown that if the borrowing rate is close to the riskless rate in an explicitly specified sense then the optimal volume of debt borrowed to finance the capital expansion is small relatively to the volume of investment. This result agrees with empirical observation on the investment and financing decisions of firms with good investment opportunities.
Classification of irreducible weight modules over W-algebra W(2,2)

In this paper, we show that the support of an irreducible weight module over the W-algebra W(2,2), which has an infinite dimensional weight space, coincides with the weight lattice and that all nontrivial weight spaces of such a module are infinite dimensional. As a corollary, we obtain that every irreducible weight module over the W-algebra W(2,2), having a nontrivial finite dimensional weight space, is a Harish–Chandra module (and hence is either an irreducible highest or a lowest weight module or an irreducible module of the intermediate series).
Analysis of Web Workloads Using the Bootstrap Methodology

Modeling the performance of caches requires examining their behavior when subjected to realistic workloads that are created by extracting the essential characteristics of actual Web traffic. We have used the Bootstrap methodology for analyzing response size and file popularity distributions obtained from proxy log files. The Bootstrap is a resampling technique that enables one to estimate both population parameters and their standard errors when no accurate mathematical representations are available for the underlying distributions. For this investigation we used real-world workloads from NLANR and Verizon Laboratories together with a synthetic workload generated by Web Polygraph. The analysis of response size included averages and percentiles, processing and bandwidth costs, and a null hypothesis test for ascertaining the likelihood that different datasets have the same underlying distribution. The file popularity distribution was investigated to assess the degree of Zipf-like behavior. We conclude that the Bootstrap is an effective tool for the analysis of nonparametric distributions that enables one to determine confidence levels and make stronger statements than possible using conventional statistics. It is also valuable for determining how accurately a synthetic workload represents actual traffic.
A SCUBA/Spitzer investigation of the far-infrared extragalactic background

We have measured the contribution of submillimetre and mid-infrared sources to the extragalactic background radiation at 70 and 160 μm. Specifically, we have stacked flux in 70- and 160-μm Spitzer Space Telescope (Spitzer) observations of the Canada–United Kingdom Deep Submillimetre Survey 14-h field at the positions of 850-μm sources detected by SCUBA and also 8- and 24-μm sources detected by Spitzer. We find that per source, the SCUBA galaxies are the strongest and the 8-μm sources the weakest contributors to the background flux at both 70 and 160 μm. Our estimate of the contribution of the SCUBA sources is higher than previous estimates. However, expressed as a total contribution, the full 8-μm source catalogue accounts for twice the total 24-μm source contribution and ∼10 times the total SCUBA source contribution. The 8-μm sources account for the majority of the background radiation at 160 μm with a flux of 0.87 ± 0.16 MJy sr−1 and at least a third at 70 μm with a flux of 0.103 ± 0.019 MJy sr−1. These measurements are consistent with current lower limits on the background at 70 and 160 μm. Finally, we have investigated the 70- and 160-μm emission from the 8- and 24-μm sources as a function of redshift. We find that the average 70-μm flux per 24-μm source and the average 160-μm flux per 8- and 24-μm source is constant over all redshifts, up to z∼ 4. In contrast, the low-redshift half (z < 1) of the of 8-μm sample contributes approximately four times the total 70-μm flux of the high-redshift half. These trends can be explained by a single non-evolving SED.
Excessive Herding in the Laboratory: The Role of Intuitive Judgments

We designed four observational learning experiments to identify the key channels that, along with Bayes-rational inferences, drive herd behavior. In Experiment 1, unobserved, whose actions remain private, learn from the public actions made in turn by subjects endowed with private signals of medium quality. We find that when unobserved face a handful of identical actions that contradict their high quality signals they herd more extensively than predicted by Bayes-rational herding. Deviations from the normative solution result in severe expected losses and unobserved would be better off without the chance to learn from others. When unobserved are endowed with medium quality signals they learn rather successfully from public actions, but they overweight their low quality signals relative to public information. Experiments 2-4 reveal that non-Bayesian updating and informational misinferences are the two channels that drive excessive herding, while the strong (resp. mild) overemphasis on low (resp. medium) quality signals is caused by wrong expectations about others’ strategy. A model of intuitive observational learning accounts for the phenomenon of excessive herding, it captures well herd behavior with medium quality signals, but it fails to predict that the reluctance to contradict private signals is stronger for low than for medium quality.
Differential regulation of IgG1 and IgE synthesis by interleukin 4

IL-4/B cell stimulatory factor-1 is a T cell-derived lymphokine that has been shown to enhance IgG1 and IgE and to suppress IgG3 and IgG2b secretion by B cells stimulated with bacterial LPS. We show here that the stimulation of IgG1 and IgE secretion in response to rIL-4 is differentially regulated. The dose-response curve for IgG1 production is bimodal with peaks at 100 and 10,000 U/ml. IgE production is modest at 100 U/ml and exhibits a progressive enhancement as the IL-4 concentration is increased to 10,000 U/ml, reaching approximately 1 microgram of IgE from an initial cell number of 2 X 10(4). Both of these effects are reversed by monoclonal anti-IL-4 antibody. Neither the enhancing nor suppressing effects of IL-4 can be explained by changes in viable cell yields or [3H]thymidine incorporation. The production of both IgG1 and IgE is controlled by IL-4 in a two-phase manner. During the initial 2 d of culture with LPS, IL-4 action for both IgG1 and IgE production is relatively concentration independent at doses greater than 600 U/ml. This 2-d treatment leads to maximal IgG1 production at day 6 with no further addition of IL-4. Addition of IL-4 during the final 4 d of culture has no effect at concentrations under 100 U/ml. At higher concentrations, IL-4 is strikingly suppressive for IgG1 production. By contrast, little IgE is produced unless IL-4 is present after 2 d of culture and the response is directly dependent on the concentration of IL-4 during this second phase of culture with maximal responses observed at 10,000 U/ml. These differences in IL-4 requirements for IgG1 and IgE production, respectively, may have an important role in the regulation of the synthesis of these isotypes in responses to microbial antigens.
Asymmetrical color filling-in from the nasal to the temporal side of the blind spot

The physiological blind spot, corresponding to the optic disk in the retina, is a relatively large (6 × 8°) area in the visual field that receives no retinal input. However, we rarely notice the existence of it in daily life. This is because the blind spot fills in with the brightness, color, texture, and motion of the surround. The study of filling-in enables us to better understand the creative nature of the visual system, which generates perceptual information where there is none. Is there any retinotopic rule in the color filling-in of the blind spot? To find out, we used mono-colored and bi-colored annuli hugging the boundary of the blind spot. We found that mono-colored annuli filled in the blind spot uniformly. By contrast, bi-colored annuli, where one half had a given color, while the other half had a different one, filled in the blind spot asymmetrically. Specifically, the color surrounding the nasal half typically filled in about 75% of the blind spot area, whereas the color surrounding the temporal half filled in only about 25%. This asymmetry was dependent on the relative size of the half rings, but not the two colors used, and was absent when the bi-colored annulus was rotated by 90°. Here, the two colors on the upper and lower sides of the blind spot filled in the enclosed area equally. These results suggest that the strength of filling-in decreases with distance from the fovea consistent with the decrease of the cortical magnification factor.
The Comparative Statics of Constrained Optimization Problems

This paper develops and applies some new results in the theory of monotone comparative statics. Let f be a real-valued function defined on R-super-l and consider the problem of maximizing f(x) when x is constrained to lie in some subset C of R-super-l. We develop a natural way to order the constraint sets C and find the corresponding restrictions on the objective function f that guarantee that optimal solutions increase with the constraint set. We apply our techniques to problems in consumer, producer, and portfolio theory. We also use them to generalize Rybcsynski's theorem and the LeChatelier principle. Copyright The Econometric Society 2007.
Animal abuse registries: expanded interest in animal protection mimics other criminal justice policies, but should green criminologists hop on the band-wagon?

ABSTRACT Over the past decade, a small movement endorsing the use of animal abuse registries (AARs) has emerged in the United States. Today, one state, 16 counties, and the City of New York have adopted AAR legislation, and 28 other states have attempted to pass such legislation. Here, we discuss similarities between AARs and sexual offender registries in theoretical terms, discuss the nature of AAR legislation, and provide data on the use of AARs, and count the number of offenders listed in those registries at two points in time. We also provide a count of animal abuse, and potential ways that animal abuse might be counted that are not addressed in current AAR legislation. We discuss whether AARs are ‘a good idea,’ especially as a policy response that might be associated with green criminology.
Improved diagnosis of early kidney allograft dysfunction by ultrasound with echo enhancer--a new method for the diagnosis of renal perfusion.

BACKGROUND Conventional ultrasound parameters such as the resistance index (RI) are only of limited use in the diagnosis of early allograft dysfunction. We, therefore, performed a prospective study to compare the value of ultrasound contrast media (USCM) with conventional US in the diagnosis of early allograft dysfunction. METHODS A total of 48 consecutive kidney recipients underwent US examination after USCM administration 4-10 days after transplantation. Arterial inflow was determined in the interlobar artery and renal cortex using time-intensity curve (TIC) software. The difference in time-to-peak intensity between these two vascular territories was determined, and a perfusion quotient (PQ) was defined as the ratio of TIC increase of interlobar artery to renal cortex. Three patients with segmental loss of renal perfusion demonstrated by Doppler US were excluded. RESULTS Nineteen patients had an uneventful clinical course (control group); PQ was 1.2 +/- 0.4. Seven patients with a large perirenal haematoma, without rejection had an increased PQ (P < 0.05) and a prolonged time difference (P < 0.05). Based on clinical and histological criteria, the remaining patients were classified as acute tubular necrosis (ATN) (n = 7), non-vascular rejection (n = 7) or vascular rejection (n = 5). RI determination could not discriminate these groups. Patients with ATN (PQ = 1.6 +/- 0.7) or non-vascular rejection (PQ = 1.1 +/- 0.6) had a lower PQ than patients with vascular rejection (PQ = 2.2 +/- 0.8, P < 0.05). The time difference in all three subgroups was longer compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS USCM might be superior in the diagnosis of early kidney allograft dysfunction compared with conventional US by means of RI determination. Perirenal haematoma, ATN and vascular rejection are associated with characteristic changes of the TIC.
Student Support in a Virtual Space: A Phenomenological Approach to Understanding International Student Success.

International students represent a large portion of student populations at some higher education institutions in the United States. In response to the complexity of the student immigration process, more international students are choosing to pursue their US degrees online, while fulfilling their personal and professional obligations in their home nations. Writing and communicating in English can be difficult for international students pursuing degrees in the US. Virtual writing centers are one source of support for international students that are available at most online higher education institutions to aid and guide international students as they pursue their degrees. The purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of the experiences and perceptions of international, online student populations as they use their institution’s writing center services. A transcendental phenomenological method was used to explore the lived experiences of international, online students using online writing centers. Interviews were transcribed, and coded which served as the source of data in this study. Through the phenomenological analysis, five themes emerged: perceptions and insights of an online degree, skills and competencies gained through writing center use resources used in the writing center, perceptions of the writing center, and international recommendations to improve writing centers.
Influence of cloud temperature on brightness temperature and consequences for water retrieval

In this paper we show that to improve existing radiometric methods to estimate path‐integrated cloud liquid water, the physical approximations commonly used concerning the direct model have to be reconsidered. In fact, even if the problem that consists in deducing the brightness temperatures from atmospheric quantities is rigorously solved (for a nonscattering atmosphere) by means of the radiative transfer equation, the relation between radiometric temperatures and one physical global quantity integrated content is not always determined from theoretical considerations. In all the dual‐frequency retrieval models commonly used, the method always consists in the separation of the two water phases based on two radiometric measurements: one at a vapor‐sensitive frequency and one at a cloud‐sensitive frequency. The variations in the vertical absorption profile are neglected, in particular the temperature one, thus leading to linear expressions that allow an easier resolution of the inverse problem. Through an important set of simulated data, the authors have proved that a new global variable, which allows us to take the temperature profile into account, can greatly improve the modelization of the direct problem. The introduction of this quantity helped the authors to show that the relationship between brightness temperature and liquid water content is a nonlinear one. Even if the analytical inversion of the direct model allows only a relatively small improvement in water vapor and liquid water prediction, the consequences for the inverse problem are also discussed. To improve the existing dual‐frequency algorithm, additional information sensitive to temperature profile is needed. For example, a third radiometer frequency can improve the inverse algorithm, but it should be used in a nonlinear expression.
Extracellular embryo genomic DNA and its potential for genotyping applications

Background: Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) currently relies on biopsy of one or few embryo cells. Our aim was to evaluate the embryo extracellular matrices (spent medium and blastocoele fluid) as source of DNA for embryo genotyping. Results/methodology: We first evaluated the amplifiability and the amount of genomic DNA in spent embryo culture media from day 3 (n = 32) and day 5/6 (n = 54). Secondly, we evaluated the possibility to genotype the MTHFR polymorphism C677T from media at day 5/6 (n = 8) and blastocoele fluids (n = 9) by direct sequencing. The C677T polymorphism detection rate was 62.5 and 44.4% in medium and fluid, respectively. Conclusion: A noninvasive approach for embryo genotyping was possible, but still with limitations due to low detection rate and possible allele dropout.
Learning the Change for Automatic Image Cropping

Image cropping is a common operation used to improve the visual quality of photographs. In this paper, we present an automatic cropping technique that accounts for the two primary considerations of people when they crop: removal of distracting content, and enhancement of overall composition. Our approach utilizes a large training set consisting of photos before and after cropping by expert photographers to learn how to evaluate these two factors in a crop. In contrast to the many methods that exist for general assessment of image quality, ours specifically examines differences between the original and cropped photo in solving for the crop parameters. To this end, several novel image features are proposed to model the changes in image content and composition when a crop is applied. Our experiments demonstrate improvements of our method over recent cropping algorithms on a broad range of images.
The Target space dependence of the Hagedorn temperature

The effect of certain simple backgrounds on the Hagedorn temperature in theories of closed strings is examined. The background of interest are a constant Neveu-Schwarz B-field, a constant offset of the space-time metric and a compactified spatial dimension. We find that the Hagedorn temperature of string theory depends on the parameters of the background. We comment on an interesting non-extensive feature of the Hagedorn transition, including a subtlety with decoupling of closed strings in the NCOS limit of open string theory and on the large radius limit of discrete light-cone quantized closed strings.
THE INFLUENCE OF JOB PROMOTION ON JOB SATISFACTION IN PT PUPUK SRIWIDJAJA PALEMBANG (CASE STUDY IN HUMAN RESOURCE DIVISION)

The purpose of this research is to learn and understand the effect of job promotion on job satisfaction in PT Pupuk Sriwidjaja Palembang. The object of this research is employee in Human Resource Division of PT Pupuk Sriwidjaja Palembang with 45 employees as sample. The sampling method used in this research is sensus method. The method used for collecting data is by questionnaire. The data collected are tested by validity test, reliability test, simple linear regression analysis, correletion coefficient (r) and determination coenfficient (R2) and t test by using SPSS version 22. The result of this research shows that job promotion has positive and significant effect to job satisfaction in PT Pupuk Sriwidjaja Palembang. Keywords : Job Promotion, Job Satisfaction
On the Road: Access to Transportation Infrastructure and Economic Growth in China

This paper estimates the effect of access to transportation networks on regional economic outcomes in China over a twenty-period of rapid income growth. It addresses the problem of the endogenous placement of networks by exploiting the fact that these networks tend to connect historical cities. Our results show that proximity to transportation networks have a moderate positive causal effect on per capita GDP levels across sectors, but no effect on per capita GDP growth. We provide a simple theoretical framework with empirically testable predictions to interpret our results. We argue that our results are consistent with factor mobility playing an important role in determining the economic benefits of infrastructure development.