Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Going Negative in Comparative Perspective: Electoral Rules and Campaign Strategies

“Going negative” has practical and normative implications for electoral outcomes in all democracies. But most research on campaign strategy is limited to the two-candidate, plurality context provided by many elected offices in the United States. How do campaign strategies change as a function of electoral rules? In this paper, I use recent campaign strategies observed under three different sets of electoral rules in Brazil to illustrate several lessons overlooked in models derived for single member districts, and I discuss implications for building a general model of campaign strategies. The main conclusions of the paper are that (a) negative campaigning should occur under many other electoral systems, though the patterns and calculus of attacks should be considerably more complex; and (b) uncertainty about public opinion and voting behavior can quickly eliminate negative campaigning, especially as district magnitude increases. ∗Thanks to Moema Bonelli for excellent research support and assistance.
An observability enhancement approach for improved testability and at-speed test

Some recent studies show that an at-speed sequential or functional test is better than a test executed at lower speed. Design-for-testability approaches based on full scan, partial scan or silicon-based solutions such as Crosscheck achieve very high stuck-at fault coverage. However, in all these cases, the tests have to be applied at speeds lower than the operation speed of the circuit. In this paper, a design-for-test method that permits at-speed testing is introduced. The method is based on probe point insertion for improved observability, and it requires enhancements to an existing sequential circuit fault simulator. Faults that can be activated but not detected at existing primary outputs are targeted. A minimal set of probe points is selected to detect these faults, and the probe points are compressed to one or two output pins using exclusive-OR trees. The issue of aliasing of fault effects is addressed. Improvements in fault coverage were made for all 17 of the ISCAS89 sequential benchmark circuits studied. Fault coverages between 99% and 100% were obtained for seven circuits, and 100% ATG effectiveness was achieved on all but two circuits. >
Estimation of Hydraulic Conductivity in an Alluvial System Using Temperatures

Well water temperatures are often collected simultaneously with water levels; however, temperature data are generally considered only as a water quality parameter and are not utilized as an environmental tracer. In this paper, water levels and seasonal temperatures are used to estimate hydraulic conductivities in a stream-aquifer system. To demonstrate this method, temperatures and water levels are analyzed from six observation wells along an example study site, the Russian River in Sonoma County, California. The range in seasonal ground water temperatures in these wells varied from <0.2 degrees C in two wells to approximately 8 degrees C in the other four wells from June to October 2000. The temperature probes in the six wells are located at depths between 3.5 and 7.1 m relative to the river channel. Hydraulic conductivities are estimated by matching simulated ground water temperatures to the observed ground water temperatures. An anisotropy of 5 (horizontal to vertical hydraulic conductivity) generally gives the best fit to the observed temperatures. Estimated conductivities vary over an order of magnitude in the six locations analyzed. In some locations, a change in the observed temperature profile occurred during the study, most likely due to deposition of fine-grained sediment and organic matter plugging the streambed. A reasonable fit to this change in the temperature profile is obtained by decreasing the hydraulic conductivity in the simulations. This study demonstrates that seasonal ground water temperatures monitored in observation wells provide an effective means of estimating hydraulic conductivities in alluvial aquifers.
Improving on exact tests by approximate conditioning

SUMMARY The often conservative nature, for discrete data, of so-called exact tests seems usually the result of unnecessarily precise conditioning. We consider avoiding this by conditioning only approximately on the sufficient statistics for nuisance parameters. Modest relaxation of conditioning results in small loss in terms of the rationale for conditional inference, but can greatly reduce the difficulties caused by discreteness. Exact calculation of p-values based on approximate conditioning is possible, but unattractive both in terms of the amount of calculation involved and in requiring explicit specification of the extent to which conditioning is to be relaxed. It is shown that there is a highly accurate, easily computed and very natural asymptotic approximation that avoids these difficulties.
Cu-Mo 2 C / MCM-41 : An Efficient Catalyst for the Selective Synthesis of Methanol from CO 2

Supported molybdenum carbide (yMo2C/M41) and Cu-promoted molybdenum carbide, using a mechanical mixing and co-impregnation method (xCuyMo2C/M41-M and xCuyMo2C/M41-I) on a mesoporous molecular sieve MCM-41, were prepared by temperature-programmed carburization method in a CO/H2 atmosphere at 1073 K, and their catalytic performances were tested for CO2 hydrogenation to form methanol. Both catalysts, which were promoted by Cu, exhibited higher catalytic activity. In comparison to 20Cu20Mo2C/M41-M, the 20Cu20Mo2C/M41-I catalyst exhibited a stronger synergistic effect between Cu and Mo2C on the catalyst surface, which resulted in a higher selectivity for methanol in the CO2 hydrogenation reaction. Under the optimal reaction conditions, the highest selectivity (63%) for methanol was obtained at a CO2 conversion of 8.8% over the 20Cu20Mo2C/M41-I catalyst.
Measuring Technical Efficiency in the Stochastic Varying Coefficient Frontier Model

Due to the assumption that the best practice methods refer to each input separately instead of the whole set of inputs used by a firm, the benchmark technology as defined in the stochastic varying coefficient frontier model may be infeasible and theoretically improper whenever the maximum response coefficients are not coming from the same production unit. To overcome this problem, we propose alternative measures of output-oriented and single-factor technical efficiencies inspired from the maximum likelihood formulation of the nonneutral frontier model. The empirical results indicate that there are significant differences between the two in terms of the estimated efficiency scores but not significant differences we detected in terms of the efficiency ranking. Copyright (c) 2009 International Association of Agricultural Economists.
Structuring parallel and distributed programs

Darwin is a configuration language which allows distributed and parallel programs to be structured in terms of groups of process instances which communicate by message passing. In addition to expressing static structure, Darwin can be used to express structures which change dynamically as execution progresses. The authors present a set of examples illustrating the use of Darwin in constructing parallel programs. Since processes can be considered to be an abstraction of physical processors, Darwin can also be used to describe the hardware structure of distributed memory multicomputers in terms of processors and their interconnection. The authors illustrate this for a multicomputer constructed from transputers and show its use in the process of mapping the logical structure of a parallel program to the physical hardware.
Recognition and Appreciation and its Psychological Effect on Job Satisfaction and Performance in a Malaysia IT Company: Systematic Review

There is a general assumption that every employee like to be recognized and appreciated, because they are everyday human innate need. Though, there has been extensive study on intrinsic motivational factors but still there still few studies on appreciation and recognition and how they can be well utilized in the organization to boost job satisfaction of employees. Thus, this paper aims to explore and examine previous literatures on employee intrinsic motivational factors and using those studies as background knowledge for this present study on employees‟ perception of recognition and appreciation and the influence it has on their job satisfaction, performance, productivity and commitment towards the organization goals and objectives. Recognition and appreciation which can also be refers to as intrinsic motivation are basic psychological process, therefore, becoming significance and inevitable to every human. However, this present study aims to utilize survey research method, vast of the constructs that will be used in this study will be operationalized using previously-validated and originally developed measures with little or no modifications where necessary to suit the present research context. Structural equation modeling using Amos will also be utilized to find the level of influence of recognition and as well as the level of appreciation towards TM employees' job satisfaction and performance.
Instruments for Assessing Interest in STEM Content and Careers

Two new instruments created to assess perceptions of science, Technology, engineering, and Math (sTeM) disciplines and careers are analyzed and found to have respectable to excellent internal consistency reliability, as well as good content, construct, and criterion-related validity for the areas assessed. Cronbach’s alpha for the individual scales on the sTeM semantics survey and the sTeM Career interest Questionnaire ranged from . 78 to . 94 across the eight constructs represented. These scores were judged to be acceptable to assess anticipated changes resulting from Middle schoolers out to save the World (MsosW) iTesT project activities, and are believed to be worthy of use by other iTesT projects.
EddyNet: A Deep Neural Network For Pixel-Wise Classification of Oceanic Eddies

This work presents EddyNet, a deep learning based architecture for automated eddy detection and classification from Sea Surface Height (SSH) maps provided by the Copernicus Marine and Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS). EddyNet consists of a convolutional encoder-decoder followed by a pixel-wise classification layer. The output is a map with the same size of the input where pixels have the following labels {‘0’: Non eddy, ‘1’: anticyclonic eddy, ‘2’: cyclonic eddy}. Keras Python code, the training datasets and EddyNet weights files are open-source and freely available on https://github.com/redouanelg/EddyNet.
Transcriptional Regulation Patterns Revealed by High Resolution Chromatin Immunoprecipitation during Cardiac Hypertrophy*

Background: Transcriptional regulation plays an essential role in the development of cardiac hypertrophy. Results: Pol II and H3K9-acetyl chromatin immunoprecipitation reveal unique transcriptional patterns in the heart. Conclusion: Both de novo recruitment and promoter-pausing of pol II play critical roles in regulating specialized and housekeeping genes, respectively. Significance: Understanding transcriptional regulation helps in deciphering the mechanisms underlying hypertrophy. Cardiac hypertrophy is characterized by a generalized increase in gene expression that is commensurate with the increase in myocyte size and mass, on which is superimposed more robust changes in the expression of specialized genes. Both transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms play fundamental roles in these processes; however, genome-wide characterization of the transcriptional changes has not been investigated. Our goal was to identify the extent and modes, RNA polymerase II (pol II) pausing versus recruitment, of transcriptional regulation underlying cardiac hypertrophy. We used anti-pol II and anti-histone H3K9-acetyl (H3K9ac) chromatin immunoprecipitation-deep sequencing to determine the extent of pol II recruitment and pausing, and the underlying epigenetic modifications, respectively, during cardiac growth. The data uniquely reveal two mutually exclusive modes of transcriptional regulation. One involves an incremental increase (30–50%) in the elongational activity of preassembled, promoter-paused, pol II, and encompasses ∼25% of expressed genes that are essential/housekeeping genes (e.g. RNA synthesis and splicing). Another involves a more robust activation via de novo pol II recruitment, encompassing ∼5% of specialized genes (e.g. contractile and extracellular matrix). Moreover, the latter subset has relatively shorter 3′-UTRs with fewer predicted targeting miRNA, whereas most miRNA targets fall in the former category, underscoring the significance of posttranscriptional regulation by miRNA. The results, for the first time, demonstrate that promoter-paused pol II plays a role in incrementally increasing housekeeping genes, proportionate to the increase in heart size. Additionally, the data distinguish between the roles of posttranscriptional versus transcriptional regulation of specific genes.
A Comparative Study of Probabalistic and Language Models for Information Retrieval

Language models for information retrieval have received much attention in recent years, with many claims being made about their performance. However, previous studies evaluating the language modelling approach for information retrieval used different query sets and heterogeneous collections, which make reported results difficult to compare. This research is a broad-based study that evaluates language models against a variety of search tasks --- topic finding, named-page finding and topic distillation. The standard Text REtrieval Conference (TREC) methodology is used to compare language models to the probabilistic Okapi BM25 system. Using consistent parameter choices, we compare results of different language models on three different search tasks, multiple query sets and three different text collections. For ad hoc retrieval, the Dirichlet smoothing method was found to be significantly better than Okapi BM25, but for named-page finding Okapi BM25 was more effective than the language modelling methods. Optimal smoothing parameters for each method were found to be dependent on the collection and the query set. For longer queries, the language modelling approaches required more aggressive smoothing but they were found to be more effective than with shorter queries. The choice of smoothing method was also found to have a significant effect on the performance of language models for information retrieval.
Value of cyclin A immunohistochemistry for cancer risk stratification in Barrett esophagus surveillance

AbstractThe value of endoscopic Barrett esophagus (BE) surveillance based on histological diagnosis of low-grade dysplasia (LGD) remains debated given the lack of adequate risk stratification. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of cyclin A expression and to combine these results with our previously reported immunohistochemical p53, AMACR, and SOX2 data, to identify a panel of biomarkers predicting neoplastic progression in BE.We conducted a case–control study within a prospective cohort of 720 BE patients. BE patients who progressed to high-grade dysplasia (HGD, n = 37) or esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC, n = 13), defined as neoplastic progression, were classified as cases and patients without neoplastic progression were classified as controls (n = 575). Cyclin A expression was determined by immunohistochemistry in all 625 patients; these results were combined with the histological diagnosis and our previous p53, AMACR, and SOX2 data in loglinear regression models. Differences in discriminatory ability were quantified as changes in area under the ROC curve (AUC) for predicting neoplastic progression.Cyclin A surface positivity significantly increased throughout the metaplasia–dysplasia–carcinoma sequences and was seen in 10% (107/1050) of biopsy series without dysplasia, 33% (109/335) in LGD, and 69% (34/50) in HGD/EAC. Positive cyclin A expression was associated with an increased risk of neoplastic progression (adjusted relative risk (RRa) 2.4; 95% CI: 1.7–3.4). Increases in AUC were substantial for P53 (+0.05), smaller for SOX2 (+0.014), minor for cyclin A (+0.003), and none for AMARC (0.00). Cyclin A immunopositivity was associated with an increased progression risk in BE patients. However, compared to p53 and SOX2, the incremental value of cyclin A was limited. The use of biomarkers has the potential to significantly improve risk stratification in BE.
From Asia to Europe: mitochondrial DNA sequence variability in Bulgarians and Turks

Two hypervariable sequence segments in the control region of mitochondrial DNA were determined in samples of Bulgarians and Turks. The Turkish sample presented a higher degree of internal diversity, in terms of total number of variable nucleotides, as well as in the average pairwise nucleotide difference. Pairwise difference distributions were built for both samples, yielding smooth bell shapes in agreement with the Rogers and Harpending model. The Bulgarian and Turkish data were compared with several European and W. Asian Caucasoid populations (Basques, Tuscans, Sardinians, British, Middle Easterners and Indians). Mean pairwise differences suggest that a demographic expansion occurred sequentially in the Middle East, through Turkey, to the rest of Europe (Bulgaria included). Current mutation rate estimates date this expansion in times ranging between 50000 and 100000 years ago and, thus, would correspond to the arrival of anatomically modern humans in Europe. Sequence trees for segment I show that European and Middle Eastern sequences derived from the reference sequence. Coalescence times for segment I sequences agree with those predicted by pairwise distributions. Genetic trees were constructed between populations and revealed an extreme homogeneity between European samples.
Evaluating Quality of Chatbots and Intelligent Conversational Agents

Chatbots are one class of intelligent, conversational software agents activated by natural language input (which can be in the form of text, voice, or both). They provide conversational output in response, and if commanded, can sometimes also execute tasks. Although chatbot technologies have existed since the 1960s and have influenced user interface development in games since the early 1980s, chatbots are now easier to train and implement. This is due to plentiful open source code, widely available development platforms, and implementation options via Software as a Service (SaaS). In addition to enhancing customer experiences and supporting learning, chatbots can also be used to engineer social harm - that is, to spread rumors and misinformation, or attack people for posting their thoughts and opinions online. This paper presents a literature review of quality issues and attributes as they relate to the contemporary issue of chatbot development and implementation. Finally, quality assessment approaches are reviewed, and a quality assessment method based on these attributes and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is proposed and examined.
High-resolution optical spectroscopy of the yellow hypergiant V1302 Aql (=IRC+10420) in 2001–2014

We present the results of a study of spectral features and the velocity field in the atmosphere and circumstellar envelope of the yellow hypergiant V1302 Aql, the optical counterpart of the IR source IRC+10420, based on high-resolution optical spectroscopic observations in 2001–2014. We measured heliocentric radial velocities of the following types of lines: forbidden and permitted pure emission, absorption and emission components of lines of ions, pure absorption (e.g. He I, Si II) and interstellar components of the Na I D lines, K Iand diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs). Pure absorption and forbidden and permitted pure emission, which have heliocentric radial velocities Vr = 63.7 ± 0.3, 65.2 ± 0.3 and 62.0 ± 0.4 km s-1, respectively, are slightly redshifted relative to the systemic radial velocity (Vsys ~ 60 km s-1). The positions of the absorption components of the lines with inverse P Cyg profiles are redshifted by ~20 km s-1, suggesting that clumps falling on to the star have been stable over all observing dates. The average heliocentric radial velocity of the DIBs is Vr(DIB) = 4.6 ± 0.2 km s-1. A Ha line profile with the red peak slightly stronger than the blue one was observed only once, on 2007 November 24. Comparison of pure absorption lines observed in 2001–2014 with those in earlier data does not show noticeable variations. The kinematic picture in the atmosphere was stable for observations during 2001–2014. Our results as a whole let us conclude that the hypergiant has reached a phase of slowing down (or termination) of effective temperature growth and is currently located near the high-temperature boundary of the Yellow Void in the Hertszprung–Russell diagram.
Glycoproteins are species-specific markers and major IgE reactants in grass pollens.

Grass pollen allergic patients are concomitantly exposed and sensitized to pollens from multiple Pooideae (i.e. common grass) species. As such, they are currently desensitized by allergen-specific immunotherapy using extracts made from mixes of pollens from Anthoxanthum odoratum, Dactylis glomerata, Lolium perenne, Phleum pratense and Poa pratensis. Herein, we demonstrate that species-specific glycoprotein patterns are documented by 1D and 2D electrophoresis and Western blotting analysis, which can be used as an identity test for such pollens. Most allergens are glycoproteins bearing complex N-glycans encompassing β1,2 xylose and α1,3 fucose glycoepitopes. Glycoepitope destruction using periodate oxidation has no impact on seric IgE reactivity in 75% atopic patients (n = 24). The latter have thus no significant IgE responses to carbohydrate-containing epitopes. In contrast, periodate treatment strongly impairs IgE recognition of glycoallergens in 25% of patients tested, demonstrating the presence of carbohydrate-specific IgE in those patients. While the clinical impact of carbohydrate-specific IgE is still a matter of controversy, the presence of these IgE in the serum of many allergic patients illustrates the need for cross-reacting carbohydrate epitope-free recombinant allergens to develop relevant diagnostic tests. These data also support the pertinence of mixing multiple grass pollens to desensitize atopic patients, with the aim to broaden the repertoire of glycoepitopes in the vaccine, thus mimicking natural exposure conditions.