Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamic Programming and Optimal Control, Two Volume Set

The leading and most up-to-date textbook on the far-ranging algorithmic methododogy of Dynamic Programming, which can be used for optimal control, Markovian decision problems, planning and sequential decision making under uncertainty, and discrete/combinatorial optimization. The treatment focuses on basic unifying themes, and conceptual foundations. It illustrates the versatility, power, and generality of the method with many examples and applications from engineering, operations research, and other fields. It also addresses extensively the practical application of the methodology, possibly through the use of approximations, and provides an extensive treatment of the far-reaching methodology of Neuro-Dynamic Programming/Reinforcement Learning.
A new model for predicting relative nonwetting phase permeability from soil water retention curves

Relative permeability of the nonwetting phase in a multiphase flow in porous media is a function of phase saturation. Specific expressions of this function are commonly determined by combining soil water retention curves with relative nonwetting phase permeability models. Experimental evidence suggests that the relative permeability of the nonwetting phase can be significantly overestimated by the existing relative permeability models. A new model for the prediction of relative nonwetting phase permeability from soil water retention curves is proposed in this paper. A closed form expression can be obtained in combination with soil water retention curves. The model is mathematically simple and can easily and efficiently be implemented in numerical models of multiphase flow processes in porous media. The predicting capability of the proposed model is contrasted with well‐supported models by comparing the measured and predicted relative air permeability data for 11 soils, representing a wide range of soil textures, from sand to silty clay loam. In most of the cases the proposed model improves the agreement between the predicted relative air permeability and the measured data.
Who Is at Risk and Why? Teachers' Reasons for Concern and Their Understanding and Assessment of Early Literacy

This study focuses on an issue of recent policy significance—the need to aid teachers in successfully identifying why children struggle to acquire literacy. This study (a) asked K–1 teachers to nominate students that they believed to be at risk for literacy difficulties and to provide reasons for their concern, (b) examined how these reasons relate to teachers' broader conceptions of literacy, and (c) investigated whether teachers' initial reasons and checklist-guided ratings align with concurrently administered standardized assessments. Results revealed that teachers have a wide array of initial concerns for students. There was some discordance between teachers's specific reasons for concern and their broader conceptions of early literacy. Comparison of student performance on standardized measures with teacher rationale also revealed discordance. Specific guidelines to teachers on use of a literacy checklist increased concordance between subsequent teacher ratings and standardized measures in some reading-related skills but not others. Implications for the use of multiple sources of evidence for student performance, as well as professional development, are discussed.
Individual Adjustment to School Transitions: An Exploration of the Role of Supportive Peer Relations

Previous research has shown that the transition into junior high school can be difficult for certain subgroups, particularly girls. Recent work has also examined the social support roles played by best friends during the transition and found that high quality friendships can ease the adjustment to the new environment. The present longitudinal study of 410 students in a middle class suburban school district looked at adjustment to junior high school as a function of the quantity, frequency of contact, and intimacy of same-sex and opposite-sex peer relationships at school and with peers attending other schools. Adjustment to the new school at seventh grade was defined in terms of changes from sixth grade in self-esteem, participation in school and nonschool activities, and perceived integration (or, conversely, anonymity) in the school environment. Overall, a significant decrease in the perception of being integrated into the school was found for both males and females but only small, nonsignificant changes in self-esteem and participation were evidenced. In order to test for relationships between school adjustment and social relations, only two extreme groups were examined, representing good adjusters (Gainers) and poor adjusters (Decliners). Results showed significant group-by-sex-of-subject interaction effects for self-esteem on most frequency and intimacy measures. In particular, males who had gained in self-esteem had more frequent peer contacts and were somewhat more intimate with peers than were males who declined. For females, however, results were in the opposite direction. Few consistent results were found for adjustment in terms of participation or perceived integration.
Performance of the runway-status light system at Logan Airport

Runway incursions are a persistent problem in airport ground-movement operations. Numerous critical conflicts and several fatal accidents have occurred as a result of unauthorized or otherwise inappropriate entry of aircra& or surface vehicles onto an active runway. Many of these conflicts developed quickly, leaving little time for effective intervention by either the controller or the pilots involved. A reliable system of automatic runway-status lights would be an 'effective way to prevent such time-critical incursions. The runway-status light '·'system (RSLS) at Boston's Logan International Airport is an off-line proof-of'concept technology-demonstration system designed to show that automatically operated runway-status lights can promptly and reliably transmit runway-status information to pilots and surface-vehicle operators, thereby preventing unsafe runway entry or unsafe takeoff. •' ,The demonstration system does not include actual lights on the airport ,s~ce but has relied instead on an illuminated airport model board, which has allowed system development to proceed in a realistic operating environment of live airport traffic without interfering with airport operations. The results of an "'initial proof-of-concept assessment indicate that the system performs well, even though it is an early prototype. Missed-detection and false-alarm rates are low; " and interference with normal airport operations promises to be negligible. The d,emonstration has shown the techriical feasibility of a system of automatic ,runway-status lights. A'' S AIR TRAFFIC CONTINUES to increase, traffic ", loads at major airports are expected to grow , proportionally, placing an increasingly heavy burden on the tower controllers who must expedite the movement of this traffic safely and efficiently. Dangerous and occasionally fatal runway conflicts have occurred in the past. Many of these conflicts developed quickly, leaving little time for effective intervention by either the controller or the pilots involved. Some of these conflicts are described in this issue in the article by Harald Wilhelmsen entitled "Preventing Runway Conflicts: The Role of Airport Surveillance, Tower-Cab Alerts, and Runway-Status Lights. " Although surface safety at most of the world's major airports is exemplary, the important task ofmaintaining and improving safety in the face of increased surface congestion requires continuing effort. A system of automatic runway-status lights has been proposed as a means of preventing time-critical runway conflicts by indicating runway status to pilots and surface-vehicle operators [1]. These lights would tell pilots when conditions are unsafe for takeoff, and tell both pilots and surface-vehicle operators when a runway is unsafe to enter. Such a warning system, operating continuously, automatically, and promptly without human intervention, represents a last line of
Comparison between mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA variation in the native range of Silene vulgaris

A detailed survey of mitochondrial and chloroplast diversity in eight populations of Silene vulgaris from Central Europe was conducted for comparison with previously published data on diversity from S. vulgaris populations in the introduced range. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation around the coxI gene was assessed with Southern blotting/restriction fragment length polymorphism methods. Chloroplast variation was assessed by sequencing the intergenic spacer separating the trnH and psbA genes. Thirty mtDNA haplotypes and 24 chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) haplotypes were found within 86 individuals. The overall genetic diversity h (0.941 for mitochondrial, and 0.893 for chloroplast markers) and within‐population diversity were higher than reported in previous population studies of S. vulgaris in the USA and Europe. The frequency of private alleles was surprisingly high — more than 90% for both kinds of markers. Most of our populations were large and located in relatively undisturbed meadows, whereas surveys in Virginia consisted of smaller roadside populations. The slow rate of population turnover in European populations is discussed as a factor responsible for the relatively high diversity of S. vulgaris in undisturbed areas of its native range. Association between mtDNA and cpDNA haplotypes was also demonstrated. Finally, gender and mtDNA haplotype were associated in the Alps populations, where females were very rare.
Antipsychotic Polypharmacy in Clozapine Resistant Schizophrenia: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Tapering Antipsychotic Co-treatment

There is a considerable disparity between clinical practice and recommendations based on meta-analyses of antipsychotic polypharmacy in clozapine resistant schizophrenia. For this reason, we investigated the clinical response to reducing the use olanzapine that had been previously added on clozapine treatment among seriously ill hospitalized patients. In a randomized controlled trial with crossover design, we studied volunteer patients (N=15) who had olanzapine added on to clozapine in a state mental hospital. Clozapine monotherapy was just as effective as clozapine-olanzapine therapy, according to results from Clinical Global Impression Scale and Global Assessment of Functioning as primary outcome measures. Polypharmacy is widely used in treating schizophrenia, and usually, add-on medications are started because of worsening of the clinical state. A major confounding feature of these add-ons is whether observed improvements are caused by the medication or explained by the natural fluctuating course of the disorder. The present study, in spite of its small size, indicates the necessity of reconsidering the value of polypharmacy in treating schizophrenia.
The Perpetual Homelessness of College Experiences: Tensions between Home and Campus for African American Women

There is an ongoing debate about whether African American students need to sever ties with their families to be successful in college. Adding nuance to this debate, this ethnographic study examines African American women’s experiences of navigating family relationships in a predominantly White institution. The women described multiple pressures from their families and on campus, often resulting in a sense of “homelessness,” as if they fit neither on campus nor in their families.
Trapper Attitudes and Industrial Development on Registered Traplines in West-Central Alberta

Rapid industrial development can have unplanned consequences for the landscape and lead to conflicts among stakeholders. Impacts to traditional and subsistence-based land users can be significant, but have gone largely unexamined. We studied marten trapper attitudes toward industrial development and how these perceptions coincide with measurements of land-use activities in western Alberta, Canada. Sampled trappers had negative attitudes toward industrial activity, with a disproportionate emphasis on timber harvesting. Trappers with concerns about industrial activity had more developed traplines. Trappers who were less concerned about industrial development were more likely to have good working relationships with specific companies and felt involved in land management decisions. Our findings indicate that the extent of disturbance alone does not determine the level of trapper concern and discuss the factors that could lead to disparity in attitudes and improve communications.
The effects of dyslexia on the work of nurses and healthcare assistants.

AIM To explore the effects of being dyslexic on the working lives of nurses and healthcare assistants (HCAs), and to identify what might be done to improve their working lives. METHOD A qualitative approach was taken comprising semi-structured interviews and interpretative data analysis. Seven nurses and HCAs took part in the study. FINDINGS Dyslexia affects each individual differently and may affect career choice and career progression. Appropriate support from colleagues and employers is important. The participants identified dyslexia-friendly practices and made suggestions for improvements. CONCLUSION Nurses and HCAs with dyslexia can make a major contribution to patient care, although dyslexia can affect their work in many different ways. Establishing a dyslexia-friendly workplace would help them to achieve their maximum potential.
From cyberbullying to electronic aggression: typology of the phenomenon

Cyberbullying is usually operationalised as a kind of bullying understood as peer aggression that is intentional and continuous, and involves an aspect of imbalance of power between a victim and a perpetrator or perpetrators. Despite the tool used (new media), cyberbullying often takes place within a traditional group (e.g. school class). However, cyberspace gives Internet users the opportunity to attack other individuals: people known only from the Internet, celebrities, teachers, totally unknown individuals or whole groups of people. Involvement in such actions brings suffering to those victimised as well as potential negative consequences for the perpetrators. This article presents a typology of electronic aggression based on qualitative research data (interviews with teachers and students). The typology was validated in a large quantitative survey on a representative sample of Polish 15-year-olds. The survey gives the prevalence of perpetration of different kinds of electronic aggression, as well as some influencing factors (e.g. gender) and risk and protective factors (attitudes towards school, peer norms, negative relations in the family, norms concerning online behaviour at school/home, pro-aggressive beliefs, level of self-esteem). The need to broaden prevention and intervention measures, and not restrict them to the issue of electronic peer aggression, is discussed.
Comparative inflammatory properties of staphylococcal superantigenic enterotoxins SEA and SEG: implications for septic shock

The severity of Staphylococcus aureus sepsis is positively associated with staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) and negatively associated with the enterotoxin gene cluster (egc), which encodes five staphylococcal enterotoxins [ 1 ]. We postulated that the variable, clinical severity of S. aureus sepsis might be a result of differences in the inflammatory properties of staphylococcal superantigens. We therefore compared the inflammatory properties of SEA with those of staphylococcal entérotoxin G (SEG), a member of the five egc superantigens. We found that SEA and SEG had similar superantigenic properties, as they induced CD69 expression on T lymphocytes and selective expansion of Vβ subpopulations. Contrary to SEG, however, SEA induced a strong proinflammatory/Th1 response, including TNF‐α and MIP‐1α production. These results suggest that the association of SEA with the severity of S. aureus septic shock, characterized by a deleterious, inflammatory cascade, may be explained partly by the specific proinflammatory properties of this superantigen.
Finding simple paths and cycles in graphs ∗ ( Extended Abstract )

We describe a novel method, the method of random colorings, for finding simple paths and cycles of a specified length k in a graph G = (V,E). Using small bias probability spaces and families of perfect hash functions we can derandomize the randomized algorithms obtained using this method and obtain deterministic algorithms that establish the following new results: • For every fixed k, deciding whether a given graph G = (V,E) contains a simple cycle of size exactly k, or in fact any fixed series-parallel graph H on k vertices, and finding such a cycle, or subgraph respectively, if one exists is almost as easy as multiplying two V by V matrices with 0, 1 entries. Here, and in what follows, we use V to denote the cardinality of the set V, whenever there is no possible confusion. • Deciding whether a graph G = (V,E) contains a simple cycle (or a given graph H with bounded tree-width) of size precisely k, where k = Θ(log V ) and finding such a cycle (subgraph, respectively) if one exists can be done in polynomial time. We also describe an assortment of more specific methods for finding cycles of size at most seven efficiently, improving various previously known results. ∗Work supported in part by THE BASIC RESEARCH FOUNDATION administrated by THE ISRAEL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES. †School of Mathematical Sciences, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, ISRAEL and AT & T Bell Labs, 600 Mountain Avenue, Murray Hill, NJ 07974, USA ‡School of Mathematical Sciences, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, ISRAEL. Contact author: Uri Zwick, e-mail: zwick@math.tau. ac.il.
The intersubjective space–time of a Zulu choir/HIV support group in global perspective

This article draws from anthropology, conversation analysis, ethnomusicology, semiotics, and phenomenology, using the concept of intersubjectivity to model how the micro-organization of musical communication can be integral in social processes of support, identity maintenance, and activism amid structural inequality. This is based on ethnographic fieldwork in Durban, South Africa, with a Zulu gospel choir that functioned as a support group, activist organization, and performance troupe. Three distinct aspects (or levels) of intersubjectivity are discussed. The organization of these levels in music making is outlined through fine-grained discussion of how people with HIV coordinate bodies and voices in space as they make music together for each other and for international audiences. This article contributes to the further development of a musical semiotics, discussing how overlapping conceptualizations of intersubjectivity in multiple disciplines may be synthesized to analyze the performance of coordinated sonic action.
Sleep and Ventricular Premature Beats

Sixty-nine 24-hour electrocardiographic monitoring sessions were conducted in 54 ambulatory subjects. Thirty-one had coronary heart disease (CHD); 11 had miscellaneous heart ailments; and 12 were free of any heart disease. Monitoring was accomplished with a miniaturized cassette recorder and ventricular premature beats (VPBs) were analyzed as to incidence and grade. The occurrence of VPBs during sleep hours was compared to the awake state.In 22 patients, the incidence of VPBs was reduced by at least 50% during sleep. An additional 13 patients showed a reduction of 25 to 50%. If patients free of ectopic activity during 24-hour monitoring sessions are excluded from analysis, then in 35 of 45 patients, or in 78%, sleep was associated with a lowered occurrence of ventricular extrasystoles. During sleep the VPB grade was likewise lowered. Thus the mean grade for 45 patients changed from 2.75 while awake to 1.78 while asleep. It is of interest that in a number of these patients, trials of various antiarrhythmic drugs were less effective than sleep in reducing the incidence and grade of VPBs. It is concluded that treatment of sporadically occurring ventricular ectopic activity in some patients may require attention to the neurophysiologic trigger rather than the cardiac target.
The Dynamics of a Racialized, Gendered, Ethnicized, and Economically Stratified Society: Understanding the Socio-Economic Status of Women in Zimbabwe

Feminist literature attempting to understand the status of women in Zimbabwe has seldom considered patterns of social exclusion and the dynamics of a racialized society that institutionalized racial supremacy as an ideology for organizing social life. Even now, too often we believe, feminist theorists analyze the status of women with the assumption that patriarchy is the single source of the oppression of women. Using the notion of a racialized society we account for the workings of gender oppression within the historical context of Zimbabwe. We show how in a racialized society, gender, race, ethnicity, and class operate intricately together to relegate African women to the lowest socio-economic status. Even with policies to redress earlier imbalances, women endure all forms of injustices. We focus on the informal sector as illustrative of one sector where these injustices continue.
Heterozygosity for the Y701C STAT1 mutation in a multiplex kindred with multifocal osteomyelitis

Heterozygosity for dominant-negative STAT1 mutations underlies autosomal dominant Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial diseases. Mutations conferring Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial diseases have been identified in the regions of the STAT1 gene encoding the tail segment, DNA-binding domain and SH2 domain. We describe here a new heterozygous mutation, Y701C, in a Japanese two-generation multiplex kindred with autosomal dominant Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial diseases. This mutation affects precisely the canonical STAT1 tyrosine phosphorylation site. The Y701C STAT1 protein is produced normally, but its phosphorylation is abolished, resulting in a loss-of-function for STAT1-dependent cellular responses to interferon-γ or interferon-α. In the patients’ cells, the allele is dominant-negative for γ-activated factor-mediated responses to interferon-γ, but not for interferon-stimulated gene factor-3-mediated responses to interferon-α/β, accounting for the clinical phenotype of Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial diseases without severe viral diseases. Interestingly, both patients displayed multifocal osteomyelitis, which is often seen in patients with Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial diseases with autosomal dominant partial IFN-γR1 deficiency. Multifocal osteomyelitis should thus prompt investigations of both STAT1 and IFN-γR1. This experiment of nature also confirms the essential role of tyrosine 701 in human STAT1 activity in natura.