Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Suzaku Spectroscopic Study of Hard X-Ray Emission in the Arches Cluster

We present the results of a Suzaku study of the Arches cluster. A high S/N spectrum in the 3-12 keV band was obtained with the XIS. We found that the spectrum consists of a thermal plasma, a hard power-law tail, and two Gaussian lines. The plasma component (kT~2.2 keV) is established from the presence of CaXIX and FeXXV K alpha lines as well as the absence of FeXXVI K alpha line. The two Gaussian lines represent the K alpha and beta lines from iron at lower ionization stages. Both the line centers and the intensity ratio of these two lines are consistent with the neutral iron. The hard power-law tail (index~0.7) was found to have no pronounced iron K edge feature. In comparison with the published Chandra spectra, we conclude that the thermal component is from the ensemble of point-like sources plus thermal diffuse emission concentrated at the cluster center, while the Gaussian and the hard tail components are from the non-thermal diffuse emission extended in a larger scale. In the band-limited XIS images, the distribution of the 7.5-10.0 keV emission resembles that of the 6.4 keV emission. This strongly suggests that the power-law emission is related to the 6.4 and 7.1 keV lines in the underlying physics. We discuss two ideas to explain both the hard continuum and the lines: (1) X-ray photoionization that produces fluorescence lines and the Thomson scattering continuum and (2) non-thermal electron impact ionization of iron atoms and bremsstrahlung continuum. But whichever scenario is adopted, the photon or particle flux from the Arches cluster is too low to account for the observed line and continuum intensity.
FASTM: A Log-based Hardware Transactional Memory with Fast Abort Recovery

Version management, one of the key design dimensions of Hardware Transactional Memory (HTM) systems, defines where and how transactional modifications are stored. Current HTM systems use either eager or lazy version management. Eager systems that keep new values in-place while they hold old values in a software log, suffer long delays when aborts are frequent because the pre-transactional state is recovered by software. Lazy systems that buffer new values in specialized hardware offer complex and inefficient solutions to handle hardware overflows, which are common in applications with coarse-grain transactions. In this paper, we present FASTM, an eager log-based HTM that takes advantage of the processor’s cache hierarchy to provide fast abort recovery. FASTM uses a novel coherence protocol to buffer the transactional modifications in the first level cache and to keep the non-speculative values in the higher levels of the memory hierarchy. This mechanism allows fast abort recovery of transactions that do not overflow the first level cache resources. Contrary to lazy HTM systems, committing transactions do not have to perform any actions in order to make their results visible to the rest of the system. FASTM keeps the pre-transactional state in a software-managed log as well, which permits the eviction of speculative values and enables transparent execution even in the case of cache overflow. This approach simplifies eviction policies without degrading performance, because it only falls back to a software abort recovery for transactions whose modified state has overflowed the cache. Simulation results show that FASTM achieves a speed-up of 43% compared to LogTM-SE, improving the scalability of applications with coarse-grain transactions and obtaining similar performance to an ideal eager HTM with zero-cost abort recovery.
Partitions of ℤm with the same representation functions

For A ⊆ Zm and n ∈ Zm, let σ1(A, n), σ2(A, n), σ3(A, n) denote the number of solutions of the equation n = a+a′ with ordered pairs (a, a′) ∈ A, unordered pairs (a, a′) ∈ A(a = a′) and unordered pairs (a, a′) ∈ A, respectively. In this paper, for any i ∈ {1, 2, 3}, we determine all subsets A of Zm such that σi(A, n) = σi(Zm\A, n) holds for all n ∈ Zm.
Bayesian Modeling and Forecasting of 24-Hour High-Frequency Volatility

This article estimates models of high-frequency index futures returns using “around-the-clock” 5-min returns that incorporate the following key features: multiple persistent stochastic volatility factors, jumps in prices and volatilities, seasonal components capturing time of the day patterns, correlations between return and volatility shocks, and announcement effects. We develop an integrated MCMC approach to estimate interday and intraday parameters and states using high-frequency data without resorting to various aggregation measures like realized volatility. We provide a case study using financial crisis data from 2007 to 2009, and use particle filters to construct likelihood functions for model comparison and out-of-sample forecasting from 2009 to 2012. We show that our approach improves realized volatility forecasts by up to 50% over existing benchmarks and is also useful for risk management and trading applications. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.
Spam Detection Using Feature Selection and Parameters Optimization

Spam is no more garbage but risk since it recently includes virus attachments and spyware agents which make the recipients’ system ruined, therefore, there is an emerging need for spam detection. Many spam detection techniques based on machine learning algorithms have been proposed. As the amount of spam has been increased tremendously using bulk mailing tools, spam detection techniques should deal with it. For spam detection, parameters optimization and feature selection have been proposed to reduce processing overheads with guaranteeing high detection rates. However, the previous approaches have not taken into account variable importance and optimal number of features and there are no approaches using both of them together so far. In this paper, we propose an optimal spam detection model based on Random Forests (RF) which enables parameters optimization and feature selection. We optimize two parameters of RF to maximize the detection rates. We provide the variable importance of each feature so that it is easy to eliminate the irrelevant features. Furthermore, we decide an optimal number of selected features using two methods; (i) only one parameters optimization during overall feature selection, (ii) parameters optimization in every feature elimination phase. We carry out experiments on the Spambase dataset and show the feasibility of our approach.
Stochastic epidemic models revisited: analysis of some continuous performance measures

We deal with stochastic epidemic models having a set of absorbing states. The aim of the paper is to study some continuous characteristics of the epidemic. In this sense, we first extend the classical study of the length of an outbreak by investigating the whole probability distribution of the extinction time via Laplace transforms. Moreover, we also study two almost new epidemic descriptors, namely, the time until a non-infected individual becomes infected and the time until the individual is removed from the infective group. The obtained results are illustrated by numerical examples including an application to a stochastic SIS model for head lice infections.
Head and Hand Movements in the Orchestration of Dialogue

Gaze and head orientation are considered to be the most important non-verbal cues people use to help manage the flow of conversation. However, if there are more than two participants, gaze and head orientation become problematic. People can only look at a single participant at a time. When speakers concurrently engage with more than one participant, they often make use of both head and hand orientation. We show two contrasts with existing findings. Firstly, people do not automatically look where the speaker is looking. Secondly, we demonstrate that hand movements are more important for the interaction than head movements. Specifically, changes in speaker hand orientation prompt quicker and more frequent responses from recipients than changes in head orientation.
Digging Deeper into the Gender Gap: Gender Salience as a Moderating Factor in Political Attitudes

Abstract We know how sex (rather than gender) structures political preferences, but researchers rarely take into account the salience or importance of gender identity at the individual level. The only similar variable for which salience is commonly taken seriously is partisanship, for which direction and importance or strength are both considered imperative for measurement and analysis. While some scholars have begun to look at factors that may influence intragroup differences, such as feminism (Conover, 1988), most existing research implicitly assumes gender salience is homogenous in the population. We argue that both the content of gender identity (that is, what specifically is gender identity, as opposed to sex) as well its salience should be incorporated into analyses of how gender structures political behaviour. For some, gender simply does not motivate behaviour, and the fact that salience moderates the impact of gender on behaviour requires researchers to model accordingly. Using original data from six provincial election studies, we examine a measure of gender identity salience and find that it clarifies our understanding of gender's impact on political attitudes. Résumé Nous savons comment le sexe (plutôt que le genre) structure les préférences politiques, mais les chercheurs prennent rarement en compte la pertinence ou l'importance de l'identité de genre au niveau individuel. La seule variable semblable pour laquelle la pertinence est généralement prise au sérieux est la partisanerie, dont l'orientation et l'importance ou la force constituent un impératif tant aux fins de la mesure que de l'analyse. Alors que quelques chercheurs ont commencé à explorer les facteurs susceptibles d'influer sur les différences intragroupes comme le féminisme (Conover, 1988), la plupart des recherches existantes considèrent implicitement que la pertinence du genre est homogène au sein de la population. Nous soutenons qu'il importe d'intégrer aux analyses de la manière dont le genre structure le comportement politique tant le contenu de l'identité de genre (c.-à-d. ce qu'est spécifiquement l'identité de genre par opposition au sexe) que sa pertinence. Pour certains, tout simplement, le genre ne motive pas le comportement; et le fait que la pertinence atténue l'impact du genre sur le comportement impose aux chercheurs d'adapter leurs modèles en conséquence. À l'aide des données originales provenant de six études d’élections provinciales, nous examinons une mesure de la pertinence de l'identité de genre qui clarifie notre compréhension de l'impact du genre sur les attitudes politiques.
Eastern Meditative Techniques and Hypnosis: A New Synthesis

Abstract In this article major ancient Buddhist meditation techniques, samatha, vipassana, Zen, and ton-len, will be described in reference to contemporary clinical hypnosis. In so doing, the Eastern healing framework out of which these techniques emerged is examined in comparison with and in contrast to its Western counterpart. A growing body of empirical literature shows that meditation and hypnosis have many resemblances despite the distinct differences in underlying philosophy and technical methodologies. Although not all meditation techniques “fit” the Western culture, each has much to offer to clinicians who are familiar with hypnosis.
Cache-Related Preemption Delay Analysis for Multilevel Noninclusive Caches

With the rapid growth of complex hardware features, timing analysis has become an increasingly difficult problem. The key to solving this problem lies in the precise and scalable modeling of performance-enhancing processor features (e.g., cache). Moreover, real-time systems are often multitasking and use preemptive scheduling, with fixed or dynamic priority assignment. For such systems, cache related preemption delay (CRPD) may increase the execution time of a task. Therefore, CRPD may affect the overall schedulability analysis. Existing works propose to bound the value of CRPD in a single-level cache. In this article, we propose a CRPD analysis framework that can be used for a two-level, noninclusive cache hierarchy. In addition, our proposed framework is also applicable in the presence of shared caches. We first show that CRPD analysis faces several new challenges in the presence of a multilevel, noninclusive cache hierarchy. Our proposed framework overcomes all such challenges and we can formally prove the correctness of our framework. We have performed experiments with several subject programs, including an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) controller and an in-situ space debris monitoring instrument. Our experimental results suggest that we can provide sound and precise CRPD estimates using our framework.
Tell Me Who Your Sources Are

This study found that while participants rated their own Facebook friend as more credible and more similar to them than a news organization, they rated news articles as more credible when they are shared on Facebook by a news organization than when they are shared by their own Facebook friend. Source, however, interacts with motivation. News articles shared by a news organization are rated more credible only when motivation is high. There were no significant differences between sources when motivation is low.
Hot and Hypoxic Environments Inhibit Simulated Soccer Performance and Exacerbate Performance Decrements When Combined

The effects of heat and/or hypoxia have been well-documented in match-play data. However, large match-to-match variation for key physical performance measures makes environmental inferences difficult to ascertain from soccer match-play. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the hot (HOT), hypoxic (HYP), and hot-hypoxic (HH) mediated-decrements during a non-motorized treadmill based soccer-specific simulation. Twelve male University soccer players completed three familiarization sessions and four randomized crossover experimental trials of the intermittent Soccer Performance Test (iSPT) in normoxic-temperate (CON: 18°C 50% rH), HOT (30°C; 50% rH), HYP (1000 m; 18°C 50% rH), and HH (1000 m; 30°C; 50% rH). Physical performance and its performance decrements, body temperatures (rectal, skin, and estimated muscle temperature), heart rate (HR), arterial blood oxygen saturation (SaO2), perceived exertion, thermal sensation (TS), body mass changes, blood lactate, and plasma volume were all measured. Performance decrements were similar in HOT and HYP [Total Distance (−4%), High-speed distance (~−8%), and variable run distance (~−12%) covered] and exacerbated in HH [total distance (−9%), high-speed distance (−15%), and variable run distance (−15%)] compared to CON. Peak sprint speed, was 4% greater in HOT compared with CON and HYP and 7% greater in HH. Sprint distance covered was unchanged (p > 0.05) in HOT and HYP and only decreased in HH (−8%) compared with CON. Body mass (−2%), temperatures (+2–5%), and TS (+18%) were altered in HOT. Furthermore, SaO2 (−8%) and HR (+3%) were changed in HYP. Similar changes in body mass and temperatures, HR, TS, and SaO2 were evident in HH to HOT and HYP, however, blood lactate (p < 0.001) and plasma volume (p < 0.001) were only significantly altered in HH. Perceived exertion was elevated (p < 0.05) by 7% in all conditions compared with CON. Regression analysis identified that absolute TS and absolute rise in skin and estimated muscle temperature (r = 0.82, r = 0.84 r = 0.82, respectively; p < 0.05) predicted the hot-mediated-decrements in HOT. The hot, hypoxic, and hot-hypoxic environments impaired physical performance during iSPT. Future interventions should address the increases in TS and body temperatures, to attenuate these decrements on soccer performance.
Robot-assisted movement training compared with conventional therapy techniques for the rehabilitation of upper-limb motor function after stroke.

OBJECTIVE To compare the effects of robot-assisted movement training with conventional techniques for the rehabilitation of upper-limb motor function after stroke. DESIGN Randomized controlled trial, 6-month follow-up. SETTING A Department of Veterans Affairs rehabilitation research and development center. PARTICIPANTS Consecutive sample of 27 subjects with chronic hemiparesis (>6mo after cerebrovascular accident) randomly allocated to group. INTERVENTIONS All subjects received twenty-four 1-hour sessions over 2 months. Subjects in the robot group practiced shoulder and elbow movements while assisted by a robot manipulator. Subjects in the control group received neurodevelopmental therapy (targeting proximal upper limb function) and 5 minutes of exposure to the robot in each session. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Fugl-Meyer assessment of motor impairment, FIMtrade mark instrument, and biomechanic measures of strength and reaching kinematics. Clinical evaluations were performed by a therapist blinded to group assignments. RESULTS Compared with the control group, the robot group had larger improvements in the proximal movement portion of the Fugl-Meyer test after 1 month of treatment (P<.05) and also after 2 months of treatment (P<.05). The robot group had larger gains in strength (P<.02) and larger increases in reach extent (P<.01) after 2 months of treatment. At the 6-month follow-up, the groups no longer differed in terms of the Fugl-Meyer test (P>.30); however, the robot group had larger improvements in the FIM (P<.04). CONCLUSIONS Compared with conventional treatment, robot-assisted movements had advantages in terms of clinical and biomechanical measures. Further research into the use of robotic manipulation for motor rehabilitation is justified.
Harnessing Bacterial Signals for Suppression of Biofilm Formation in the Nosocomial Fungal Pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus

Faced with the continued emergence of antibiotic resistance to all known classes of antibiotics, a paradigm shift in approaches toward antifungal therapeutics is required. Well characterized in a broad spectrum of bacterial and fungal pathogens, biofilms are a key factor in limiting the effectiveness of conventional antibiotics. Therefore, therapeutics such as small molecules that prevent or disrupt biofilm formation would render pathogens susceptible to clearance by existing drugs. This is the first report describing the effect of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa alkylhydroxyquinolone interkingdom signal molecules 2-heptyl-3-hydroxy-4-quinolone and 2-heptyl-4-quinolone on biofilm formation in the important fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. Decoration of the anthranilate ring on the quinolone framework resulted in significant changes in the capacity of these chemical messages to suppress biofilm formation. Addition of methoxy or methyl groups at the C5–C7 positions led to retention of anti-biofilm activity, in some cases dependent on the alkyl chain length at position C2. In contrast, halogenation at either the C3 or C6 positions led to loss of activity, with one notable exception. Microscopic staining provided key insights into the structural impact of the parent and modified molecules, identifying lead compounds for further development.
Morphophysiological Differences between the Metapleural Glands of Fungus-Growing and Non–Fungus-Growing Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

The metapleural gland is an organ exclusive to ants. Its main role is to produce secretions that inhibit the proliferation of different types of pathogens. The aim of the present study was to examine the morphophysiological differences between the metapleural gland of 3 non–fungus-growing ants of the tribes Ectatommini, Myrmicini, and Blepharidattini and that of 5 fungus-growing ants from 2 basal and 3 derived attine genera. The metapleural gland of the non–fungus-growing ants and the basal attine ants has fewer secretory cells than that of the derived attine ants (leaf-cutting ants). In addition, the metapleural gland of the latter had more clusters of secretory cells and sieve plates, indicating a greater storage capacity and demand for secretion in these more advanced farming ants. The glands of the derived attine ants also produced higher levels of polysaccharides and acidic lipids than those of Myrmicini, Blepharidattini, and basal attines. Our results confirm morphophysiological differences between the metapleural glands of the derived attines and those of the basal attines and non–fungus-growing ants, suggesting that the metapleural glands of the derived attines (leaf-cutting ants) are more developed in morphology and physiology, with enhanced secretion production (acidic lipids and protein) to protect against the proliferation of unwanted fungi and bacteria in the fungal garden, it is possible that leaf-cutting ants may have evolved more developed metapleural glands in response to stronger pressure from parasites.
Chronic Stress, Drug Use, and Vulnerability to Addiction

Stress is a well‐known risk factor in the development of addiction and in addiction relapse vulnerability. A series of population‐based and epidemiological studies have identified specific stressors and individual‐level variables that are predictive of substance use and abuse. Preclinical research also shows that stress exposure enhances drug self‐administration and reinstates drug seeking in drug‐experienced animals. The deleterious effects of early life stress, child maltreatment, and accumulated adversity on alterations in the corticotropin releasing factor and hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal axis (CRF/HPA), the extrahypothalamic CRF, the autonomic arousal, and the central noradrenergic systems are also presented. The effects of these alterations on the corticostriatal‐limbic motivational, learning, and adaptation systems that include mesolimbic dopamine, glutamate, and gamma‐amino‐butyric acid (GABA) pathways are discussed as the underlying pathophysiology associated with stress‐related risk of addiction. The effects of regular and chronic drug use on alterations in these stress and motivational systems are also reviewed, with specific attention to the impact of these adaptations on stress regulation, impulse control, and perpetuation of compulsive drug seeking and relapse susceptibility. Finally, research gaps in furthering our understanding of the association between stress and addiction are presented, with the hope that addressing these unanswered questions will significantly influence new prevention and treatment strategies to address vulnerability to addiction.
The practice of political rights and patron–client relations: a case study of a party in Armenia

Abstract This article investigates how patron–client relations impact the practice of citizens’ political rights, including the rights of free and voluntary suffrage and party membership, in Armenia. It presents a case study of a pervasive clientelist network reaching from a powerful patron, the founder of a political party, to intermediaries in positions of authority, and large numbers of citizens. It illustrates how politicians use the informal power of directors/managers of private and state organizations and bureaucrats over citizens’ social security in order to maintain power. Referring to the debate on coexistence or contradictions between political citizenship and clientelism, the article highlights the importance of clarifying if the notion of political citizenship is used in normative or in descriptive terms. It argues that in descriptive terms patron–client relations strongly impact the practice of citizens’ political rights in Armenia. Furthermore, in normative terms, in this case study clientelist relations involved various illicit activities and violations of citizens’ political rights.