Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Combinatorially Generated Piecewise Activation Functions

In the neuroevolution literature, research has primarily focused on evolving the number of nodes, connections, and weights in artificial neural networks. Few attempts have been made to evolve activation functions. Research in evolving activation functions has mainly focused on evolving function parameters, and developing heterogeneous networks by selecting from a fixed pool of activation functions. This paper introduces a novel technique for evolving heterogeneous artificial neural networks through combinatorially generating piecewise activation functions to enhance expressive power. I demonstrate this technique on NeuroEvolution of Augmenting Topologies using ArcTan and Sigmoid, and show that it outperforms the original algorithm on non-Markovian double pole balancing. This technique expands the landscape of unconventional activation functions by demonstrating that they are competitive with canonical choices, and introduces a purview for further exploration of automatic model selection for artificial neural networks.
Applicability of an established management algorithm for colon injuries following blunt trauma

BACKGROUND Operative management at our institution for all colon injuries have followed a defined algorithm (ALG) based on risk factors originally identified for penetrating injuries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the applicability of the ALG to blunt colon injuries. METHODS Patients with blunt colon injuries during 13 years were identified. As per the ALG, nondestructive (ND) injuries are treated with primary repair. Patients with destructive wounds (serosal tear of ≥50% colon circumference, mesenteric devascularization, and perforations) and concomitant risk factors (transfusion of >6 U packed red blood cells and/or presence of significant comorbidities) are diverted, while patients with no risk factors undergo resection plus anastomosis (RA). Outcomes included suture line failure (SLF), abscess, and mortality. Stratification analysis was performed to determine additional risk factors in the management of blunt colon injuries. RESULTS A total 151 patients were identified: 76 with destructive injuries and 75 with ND injuries. Of those with destructive injuries, 44 (59%) underwent RA and 29 (39%) underwent diversion. All ND injuries underwent primary repair. Adherence to the ALG was 95%: three patients with destructive injuries underwent primary repair, and five patients with risk factors underwent RA. There were three SLFs (2%) (one involved deviation from the ALG) and eight abscesses (5%). Colon-related mortality was 2.1%. Stratification analysis based on mesenteric involvement, degree of shock, and need for abbreviated laparotomy failed to identify additional risk factors for SLF following RA for blunt colon injuries. CONCLUSION Adherence to an ALG, originally defined for penetrating colon injuries, simplified the management of blunt colon injuries. ND injuries should be primarily repaired. For destructive wounds, management based on a defined ALG achieves an acceptably low morbidity and mortality rate. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic/epidemiologic study, level III; therapeutic study, level IV
Group III/IV muscle afferents limit the intramuscular metabolic perturbation during whole body exercise in humans

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of group III/IV muscle afferents in limiting the endurance exercise‐induced metabolic perturbation assayed in muscle biopsy samples taken from locomotor muscle. Lumbar intrathecal fentanyl was used to attenuate the central projection of μ‐opioid receptor‐sensitive locomotor muscle afferents during a 5 km cycling time trial. The findings suggest that the central projection of group III/IV muscle afferent feedback constrains voluntary neural ‘drive’ to working locomotor muscle and limits the exercise‐induced intramuscular metabolic perturbation. Therefore, the CNS might regulate the degree of metabolic perturbation within locomotor muscle and thereby limit peripheral fatigue. It appears that the group III/IV muscle afferents are an important neural link in this regulatory mechanism, which probably serves to protect locomotor muscle from the potentially severe functional impairment as a consequence of severe intramuscular metabolic disturbance.
The Impact of Directed Mirror Focus and Technique Cues on Psychological, Cognitive and Emotional Exercise Correlates in an Introductory Weight Training Orientation

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether teaching inactive and low active women to use mirrors for form and technique purposes could lessen the negative impact of mirrors on self-presentational concerns, affect, and self-efficacy. Eligible women (N = 82) underwent a one-on-one weight training orientation with a personal trainer. Participants were randomized into one of four experimental groups, each unique in the type of feedback (general or technique-specific) and the degree of focus on the mirror for technique reinforcement. Questionnaires assessed study outcomes preand post-orientation. Results indicated groups did not significantly differ on any postcondition variables, when controlling for pre-condition values (all p’s >.05). All groups showed outcome improvements following the orientation. This suggests that during a complex task, a personal trainer who emphasizes form and technique can facilitate improvements to psychological outcomes in novice exercisers, independent of the presence of mirrors or directional cues provided.
The Value of a First-Year Seminar: International Students' Insights in Retrospect

Higher education institutions in the United States commonly offer first-year seminars to assist students with their transition to college. Seminars are one of several types of first-year interventions based on findings from persistence research identifying variables affecting student success. Diverse student populations such as international students or ethnic, cultural, and linguistic minorities have unique adjustment needs that may not be met by conventional retention programming. An important element of first-year programming is monitoring and collecting data to assess outcomes and inform program improvements. Gathering information about student experiences after the first year and the long-term impacts of first-year programs is also critical. This study describes a first-year seminar for international students and examines its influence on students beyond the first year. Findings indicate the seminar had a positive impact on various aspects of student adjustment within and after the first year.
Satisfaction With Police in Violent Crime Hot Spots

This article argues that citizens’ perceptions of police can aid in selecting appropriate hot spots policing tactics and models satisfaction with police as evidenced by respondents who live or work in violent crime hot spots. Survey data (N = 630) were collected by randomly sampling addresses within violent crime hot spots in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The results reveal that being younger, or more educated, or perceiving higher procedural injustice, or higher social disorder, or being more fearful of crime, all link to lower satisfaction with police in violent crime hot spots. To maintain or improve public satisfaction with police services in hot spots, police departments should adopt tactics that are not only effective in reducing crime but also procedurally just, reduce fear of crime, and address social disorder problems.
Local convergence rates of simple evolutionary algorithms with Cauchy mutations

The standard choice for mutating an individual of an evolutionary algorithm with continuous variables is the normal distribution; however other distributions, especially some versions of the multivariate Cauchy distribution, have recently gained increased popularity in practical applications. Here the extent to which Cauchy mutation distributions may affect the local convergence behavior of evolutionary algorithms is analyzed. The results show that the order of local convergence is identical for Gaussian and spherical Cauchy distributions, whereas nonspherical Cauchy mutations lead to slower local convergence. As a by-product of the analysis, some recommendations for the parametrization of the self-adaptive step size control mechanism can be derived.
INSECTICIDE RESISTANCE ENHANCES MALE REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS IN A BEETLE

Abstract Malathion-specific resistance in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, is widespread and stable in natural populations even in the absence of pesticide exposure. To understand this stability, both resistant and susceptible males were placed in competition for susceptible female fertilization. Females were then isolated and their progeny was tested for malathion susceptibility. Male reproductive success was estimated for populations originating from different geographic areas and for isogenic strains. In most cases, resistant males had a greater reproductive success rate than susceptibles. The results suggest that male reproductive success is not traded against the selection for malathion resistance, even resistant individuals are at an advantage for this fitness trait. This absence of fitness cost may be the result of postselection of (1) modifier gene which ameliorate the fitness of resistant individuals or (2) nondeleterious resistance gene. Resistant phenotype superiority could be due to increased male mating success, improved ability of resistant males in sperm competition, female mate choice, and/or cryptic female choice of resistance gene(s). The effect of male phenotypic frequency on male reproductive success was also examined. We observed that male fertilization success is frequency dependent and inversely related to their frequency. However, this “rare male” advantage did not counteract the superiority of the resistant males.
A Pathway Forwards for the Social Capital Metaphor

Abstract A major topic in economics is the analysis of a broad class of phenomena associated with interpersonal relationships, a topic that originally grew from theories of “social capital. ” While the concept has been instrumental in bringing increased attention to social effects on economic outcomes, it has increasingly been replaced with approaches that consider instead networks and discrete interactions rather than aggregate measures of social capital. This has been an analytical improvement, but a great deal of work remains to bring empirical validity and relevancy to social network analysis. This paper presents two important approaches for achieving this, statistical analysis and agent-based modeling, and discusses their benefits, limitations, and complementary nature. Rather than waiting for either approach to achieve an ambiguous quality of maturity, integrating statistical analysis with simulation models of networks must begin now to push the frontiers of social network analysis forward.
The Determinants of Specialization Within Marriage

For recent cohorts of American couples, the traditional division of labor between husbands and wives is strongly associated with the presence of children in the household. We define measures of specialization and market intensity in household house worked and earnings to describe the joint allocation of time and effort by married men and women. Using longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we estimate the changes in the outcomes that follow the birth of a couple’s first child, and the association of these changes with parental education, factors related to divorce risk, and birth cohort. On average, specialization increases and market intensity falls, but we find evidence of considerable heterogeneity in the effects of children o household behavior, including the responses of fathers. Married couples from later birth cohorts specialize less in response to the birth of their first child, as do couples who eventually divorce. The gender of the first child has, surprisingly, a significant impact on the market intensity of the parents’ response.
Triaxial stellar systems following the r1/n luminosity law: an analytical mass–density expression, gravitational torques and the bulge/disc interplay

We have investigated the structural and dynamical properties of triaxial stellar systems whose surface brightness profiles follow the r 1 / n luminosity law - extending the analysis by Ciotti, who explored the propertiesof spherical r 1 / n systems. A new analytical expression that accurately reproduces the spatial (i.e., deprojected) luminosity density profiles (error less than 0.1 per cent) is presented for detailed modelling of the Sersic family of luminosity profiles. We evaluate both the symmetric and the non-axisymmetric components of the gravitational potential and force, and compute the torques as a function of position. For a given triaxiality, stellar systems with smaller values of n have a greater non-axisymmetric gravitational field component. We also explore the strength of the non-axisymmetric forces produced by bulges with differing n and triaxiality on systems having a range of bulge-to-disc ratios. The increasing disc-to-bulge ratio with increasing galaxy type (decreasing n) is found to greatly reduce the amplitude of the non-axisymmetric terms, and therefore reduce the possibility that triaxial bulges in late-type systems may be the mechanism or perturbation for non-symmetric structures in the disc. Using seeing-convolved r 1 / n -bulge plus exponential-disc fits to the K-band data from a sample of 80 nearby disc galaxies, we probe the relations between galaxy type, Sersic index n and the bulge-to-disc luminosity ratio. These relations are shown to be primarily a consequence of the relation between n and the total bulge luminosity. In the K band, the trend of decreasing bulge-to-disc luminosity ratio along the spiral Hubble sequence is predominantly, though not entirely, a consequence of the change in the total bulge luminosity; the trend between the total disc luminosity and Hubble type is much weaker.
DNA Double-Strand Breaks Induced by Cavitational Mechanical Effects of Ultrasound in Cancer Cell Lines

Ultrasonic technologies pervade the medical field: as a long established imaging modality in clinical diagnostics; and, with the emergence of targeted high intensity focused ultrasound, as a means of thermally ablating tumours. In parallel, the potential of [non-thermal] intermediate intensity ultrasound as a minimally invasive therapy is also being rigorously assessed. Here, induction of apoptosis in cancer cells has been observed, although definitive identification of the underlying mechanism has thus far remained elusive. A likely candidate process has been suggested to involve sonochemical activity, where reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediate the generation of DNA single-strand breaks. Here however, we provide compelling new evidence that strongly supports a purely mechanical mechanism. Moreover, by a combination of specific assays (neutral comet tail and staining for γH2AX foci formation) we demonstrate for the first time that US exposure at even moderate intensities exhibits genotoxic potential, through its facility to generate DNA damage across multiple cancer lines. Notably, colocalization assays highlight that ionizing radiation and ultrasound have distinctly different signatures to their respective γH2AX foci formation patterns, likely reflecting the different stress distributions that initiated damage formation. Furthermore, parallel immuno-blotting suggests that DNA-PKcs have a preferential role in the repair of ultrasound-induced damage.
Cathepsin and Calpain Inhibitor E64d Attenuates Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 Activity After Focal Cerebral Ischemia in Rats

Background and Purpose— Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and cysteine proteases (calpain and cathepsin B) play an important role in cell death and are upregulated after focal cerebral ischemia. Because there is a significant interaction between MMP-9 with calpain and cathepsin B, we investigated the role of E64d (a calpain and cathepsin B inhibitor) on MMP-9 activation in the rat focal ischemia model. Methods— Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to 2 hours of middle cerebral artery occlusion by using the suture insertion method followed by 22 hours of reperfusion. In the treatment group, a single dose of E64d (5 mg/kg IP) was administrated 30 minutes before the induction of focal ischemia, whereas the nontreatment group received dimethyl sulfoxide only. The neurological deficits, infarct volumes, Evans blue extravasation, brain edema, and MMP-9 activation in the brain were determined. Results— Pretreatment with E64d produced a significant reduction in the cerebral infarction volume (353.1±19.8 versus 210.3±23.7 mm3) and the neurological deficits. Immunofluorescence studies showed MMP-9, calpain, and cathepsin B activation colocalized to both neurons and the neurovascular endothelial cells after ischemia, which was reduced by E64d. Conclusion— These results suggest that E64d treatment provides a neuroprotective effect to rats after transient focal cerebral ischemia by inhibiting the upregulation of MMP-9.
Immigrant characteristics and Hispanic-Anglo housing inequality

This paper seeks to explain why Hispanic households in the United States live in housing markedly inferior to Anglos’. I argue that immigrant characteristics of Hispanic households and the metropolitan areas in which Hispanics live play important roles in determining such inequality in the housing market. Empirical analyses of homeownership, household crowding, and housing costs demonstrate that immigration plays a role in explaining relatively low homeownership and high household crowding for each of four large Hispanic populations (Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and other Hispanics). The role of immigrant characteristics in determining housing costs is much weaker.
Effect of Climate Change on Cropping Pattern of Vegetables in Madhya Pradesh, India

Vegetables play a vital role in the maintenance of human health and cheapest sources of natural protective food, contributing carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals in human diet (Choudhury, 2006). A balanced diet is essential to sustain good health. For a well-balanced diet, about 300 gram vegetables are required containing root vegetable, green vegetables and others vegetables, but only 130 grams per capita is available. Most of the leafy vegetables and root crops are rich in minerals like Ca, Fe, and phosphorous some leafy vegetables are rich in microelements like copper, manganese zinc and vitamin A, B, C. In the vegetable production climate plays a major role and now a day's climate change is rapidly affecting the vegetable production.
On the Invariance of the Unitary Cost Model for Head Reduction (Long Version)

The lambda calculus is a widely accepted computational model of higher-order functional pro- grams, yet there is not any direct and universally accepted cost model for it. As a consequence, the computational difficulty of reducing lambda terms to their normal form is typically studied by reasoning on concrete implementation algorithms. In this paper, we show that when head reduction is the underlying dynamics, the unitary cost model is indeed invariant. This improves on known results, which only deal with weak (call-by-value or call-by-name) reduction. Invariance is proved by way of a linear calculus of explicit substitutions, which allows to nicely decompose any head reduction step in the lambda calculus into more elementary substitution steps, thus making the combinatorics of head-reduction easier to reason about. The technique is also a promising tool to attack what we see as the main open problem, namely understanding for which normalizing strategies derivation complexity is an invariant cost model, if any.
Serial Changes in Sexual Function Following Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate: A Short-term Follow-up Study

Purpose To evaluate the serial changes in sexual function in the short-term period after holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and to investigate whether a change in each domain of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) is associated with improvement of micturition. Materials and Methods Thirty-eight potent men who underwent HoLEP and in whom complete 12-month follow-up data on the IIEF were available were included in this retrospective study. All patients underwent a baseline evaluation for BPH. The surgical outcome was evaluated at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively by use of the International Prostate Symptom Score, IIEF, and uroflowmetry. Results The mean age and body mass index of the patients was 64.5±6.2 years and 24.2±2.6 kg/m2, respectively. Mean total prostate volume and transitional zone volume were 48.8±18.8 ml and 24.2±16.1 ml, respectively. Most IIEF domain scores showed a slight decrease at 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery but recovered to the baseline or showed a marginal but nonsignificant increase at 12 months postoperatively compared with baseline. Orgasmic function and the overall sexual satisfaction domain score remained slightly reduced up to 12 months postoperatively. There was no significant correlation between improvement of micturition and change in sexual function throughout the follow-up period after surgery. Conclusions Although HoLEP achieves significant improvements in micturition, overall sexual function decreases slightly in the early postoperative period, but recovers to the baseline at 12 months postoperatively. Our data suggest that changes in sexual function after HoLEP are not associated with improvement of micturition.
The Continued Significance of Class Voting

Class voting is supposedly in severe decline in advanced industrial democracies. However, this conventional wisdom derives from research using problematic methods and measures and an overly simple model of political change. This chapter overviews past and current comparative research into changes in and explanations of class-based political behavior and argues for the continued significance of class voting and, by extension, class politics in contemporary democracies. I particularly emphasize the importance of using more appropriate methods and the application and testing of theories that integrate developments in this area with those in studies of voting behavior more generally. This translates into a need for the systematic testing of bottom-up/top-down interactions in the relations between social structure and political preferences and the precise specification and measurement of explanatory mechanisms that can account for the association between class position and voting.
Studying complex tourism systems: a novel approach based on networks derived from a time series

A tourism destination is a complex dynamic system. As such it requires specific methods and tools to be analyzed and understood in order to better tailor governance and policy measures for steering the destination along an evolutionary growth path. Many proposals have been put forward for the investigation of complex systems and some have been successfully applied to tourism destinations. This paper uses a recent suggestion, that of transforming a time series into a network and analyzes it with the objective of uncovering the structural and dynamic features of a tourism destination. The algorithm, called visibility graph, is simple and its implementation straightforward, yet it is able to provide a number of interesting insights. An example is worked out using data from two destinations: Italy as a country and the island of Elba, one of its most known areas.