Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Monte Carlo Studies of Magnetic Nanoparticles

Magnetic nanoparticles are complex mesoscopic systems which have unique physical properties that clearly differ from those of atoms and bulk materials. They find numerous technological applications ranging from ultra-high-density recording media (Bader, 2006) to biomedicine (Pankhurst et al., 2003). The necessity to reduce the size of the nanoparticles for these applications have raised a key issue in their study which is their thermal stability. The Monte Carlo (MC) simulation technique with the implementation of the Metropolis Algorithm (Metropolis et al., 1953) has been proved a very powerful tool for the systematic study of the magnetic behaviour of nanoparticles and nanoparticle assemblies. The two major advantages of this technique are a) the possibility for atomic scale treatment of the nanoparticles, so the details of their microstructure can be studied and b) the implementation of finite temperature through the Metropolis algorithm. Although, the obtained dynamics in the Monte Carlo simulations is intrinsic and the time evolution of the system does not come from any deterministic equation for the magnetisation, the results of the Monte Carlo simulations reproduce qualitatively the trend of the experimental data (Binder 1987). Actually this good qualitative agreement between the simulation results and the experimental data enable us to have a better insight into the nanoscaled phenomena, though some of them stem from non-equilibrium processes (Landau & Binder, 2000). A microscopic treatment of the magnetisation of ferromagnetic nanoparticles, using Monte Carlo techniques, was first developed by Binder and co-workers (Binder et al., 1970; Wildpaner 1974). An important demonstration of the work was the reduction of the magnetisation near the surface of the particle. Clearly this was to be expected because a surface spin has a smaller number of neighbours than it would have in bulk and, hence, experiences a reduced mean field. For very small particles (less than say 5 nm) the proportion of surface spins is such that they will make a major contribution to the magnetisation. As a result, the magnetisation will decrease with temperature over a range where the bulk magnetisation is roughly constant and deviations from Curie-law behaviour in the susceptibility are to be expected. In the period following the Monte Carlo work cited above, interest has been developed in finite-size scaling, and it is in this context that subsequent advances (Landau, 1976) in the nanoparticle magnetism have occurred. In addition, over the last decade there is a continuous effort to reduce the nanoparticles size and at the same time to overcome the thermal instability at room temperature (Skumryev et
Gendering boundary work: exploring excluded spaces in supermarket job rotation

The article explores the establishment of gendering divides in organisations by bridging Hernes' (2004) typologies of physical, social and mental boundary work with notions on the practice of gender as negotiated in everyday organisational activities. In the investigated Swedish supermarket, the pre-store, a narrow, front-stage space in which only women worked, was excluded from the job rotation that otherwise dominated the organisation of work in the store. This study examines: (1) how and on what grounds the divides of the pre-store were established in the supermarket and (2) how spatial divides were incorporated into the practice of gender and work in the supermarket. The findings suggest that the divides that are visible through the exclusion of the pre-store from the job rotation involved not only the allocation of work and space but also multiple and complex physical, social and mental spatial negotiations undertaken by both employees and managers. Together, these factors neutralised the divides as an aspect of the activities. First, the notion that gender was irrelevant for organisational decisions makes gender a non-issue for the organisation of the pre-store activities. Second, the notion that women and men are essentially different provided a ground for explaining why, despite being an organisational non-issue, work and workers were in fact organised along gendered lines in the supermarket. The study contributes with qualitative insights regarding the micro-political practices that make gender into a neutralised non-issue in organisations and, in particular, the intertwinement of spatial practices and negotiations.
Does Mutual Interference Affect the Feeding Rate of Aphidophagous Coccinellids? A Modeling Perspective

Mutual interference involves direct interactions between individuals of the same species that may alter their foraging success. Larvae of aphidophagous coccinellids typically stay within a patch during their lifetime, displaying remarkable aggregation to their prey. Thus, as larvae are exposed to each other, frequent encounters may affect their foraging success. A study was initiated in order to determine the effect of mutual interference in the coccinellids’ feeding rate. One to four 4th larval instars of the fourteen-spotted ladybird beetle Propylea quatuordecimpunctata were exposed for 6 hours into plastic containers with different densities of the black bean aphid, Aphis fabae, on potted Vicia faba plants. The data were used to fit a purely prey-dependent Holling type II model and its alternatives which account for interference competition and have thus far been underutilized, i.e. the Beddington-DeAngelis, the Crowley-Martin and a modified Hassell-Varley model. The Crowley-Martin mechanistic model appeared to be slightly better among the competing models. The results showed that although the feeding rate became approximately independent of predator density at high prey density, some predator dependence in the coccinellid’s functional response was observed at the low prey—high predator density combination. It appears that at low prey densities, digestion breaks are negligible so that the predators do waste time interfering with each other, whereas at high prey densities time loss during digestion breaks may fully accommodate the cost of interference, so that the time cost may be negligible.
Football Hooligans: Theory and Evidence

This paper describes empirical research amongst hooligans. Such research has not always been valued. The significant factor in hooligan behaviour may be asserted to be the generation of violence in the lower working class and its dissemination amongst football fans. It is commonly asserted that hooligans operate in well-organized groups. It is argued here that such assertions need to be based on better evidence. A detailed account is given of the behaviour of a notorious group of fans and its key individuals. This shows that the ‘hard core’ fans were distinguished from others only by greater dedication to football and their club; they had a potentiality for violence but only of the low level kind that many others shared; they were more often involved simply because they went to more matches; they lacked organization. Nevertheless outsiders were, not unreasonably, sure they were a violent, organized group. This casts doubt on similar beliefs held about other groups unless beliefs are well substantiated. Detailed ethnography is valuable because it helps to sort out the nature of the ‘hooligan’ problem that requires to be theorized.
The effect of smoking/nicotine on response selection

Nicotine taken by ad lib smoking or other routes of administration has been reported to shorten reaction time (RT) in many cognitive tasks. Most of these tasks have used visually presented stimuli and require a simple motor response such as a button press. The reliance on this type of RT task makes it difficult to determine the specific stage(s) affected by smoking/nicotine. Event‐related potential studies indicate that visual perceptual processing is faster after smoking/nicotine. However, recent studies indicated that the magnitude of this enhancement is not sufficient to explain the total improvement in RT performance due to smoking/nicotine. These studies suggest that a significant performance‐enhancement effect may occur after the decision or classification of stimuli is completed. The next logical step in the information processing chain is response selection. We examined the effect of smoking/nicotine on response selection in a stimulus‐response compatibility task. In this double‐blind study, easy response‐selection RTs were facilitated by smoking/nicotine but difficult response‐selection RTs were not. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Detection of violation causes in reflexion models

Reflexion Modelling is a well-understood technique to detect architectural violations that occur during software architecture erosion. Resolving these violations can be difficult when erosion has reached a critical level and the causes of the violations are interwoven and difficult to understand. This article outlines a novel technique to automatically detect typical causes of violations in reflexion models, based on the definition and detection of typical symptoms for these causes. Preliminary results show that the proposed technique can support software architects' navigation through reflexion models of eroded systems to understand causes of violations and to systematically take actions against them.
Tour guides' interpretation of the Historic Center of Macao as a World Cultural Heritage site

Literature review suggests that little attention is paid to the interpretation of a World Cultural Heritage (WCH) ensemble such as the Historic Center of Macao (HCM). The present study aims to investigate tour guides' interpretation of the HCM and how their interpretation affects tourists' appreciation and understanding of a visited heritage site within the HCM, as well as tourists' interest in other under-used HCM sites. Methodologies include in-depth interviews with tour guides, on-site observations of tour guides and surveys of package group tourists. The findings indicate that tour guides tended to interpret an HCM heritage site as an independent WCH site. In turn, this results in tourists' misunderstanding of Macao's WCH and a lower level of authentic experience at the visited heritage site. It is advocated that the interpretation of any one heritage site of the HCM should connect to the HCM ensemble and other heritage sites within the HCM. The inter-cultural relationship among the heritage sites should be further explored and highlighted in narratives.
An Overview on the Termination Conditions in the Evolution of Game Bots

Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) are frequently used as a mechanism for the optimization of autonomous agents in games (bots), but knowing when to stop the evolution, when the bots are good enough, is not as easy as it would a priori seem. The first issue is that optimal bots are either unknown (and thus unusable as termination condition) or unreachable. In most EAs trying to find optimal bots fitness is evaluated through game playing. Many times it is found to be noisy, making its use as a termination condition also complicated. This paper summarizes our previous published work where we tested several termination conditions in order to find the one that yields optimal solutions within a restricted amount of time, to allow researchers to compare different EAs as fairly as possible. To achieve this, we examined several ways of finishing an EA who is finding an optimal bot design process for a particular game, Planet Wars in this case, with the characteristics described above, determining the capabilities of every one of them and, eventually, selecting one for future designs.
Building a Culture of Peace: Some Priorities

If anybody had told me back in the 1960s, when I first got seriously involved in doing research on what women were really doing in the world, that in the year 2000 we would have to hold a session like this, I would not have believed them. Back in the 1960s we were beginning to uncover data that showed the amount of the basic work of the planet that was being done by women. Eighty percent of the farming was being done by women and anything that had to do with protecting the environment: the forests, the waters-you name it-much of our research showed that it was women who did it. Yes, and that it was women who managed that kind of diplomacy that would keep groups from fighting each other too much. So, I naturally expected that women would be sitting at the decision-making and policy-making tables by now, particularly on issues of national security and international security. But what we have never done, and it makes me depressed about the human species, is overcome the gendered power structure. We seem to be stuck at a certain point, and that is not a point where we should be. It is sheer craziness that at the same time the United Nations has declared an International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (1998), the United States government's insistence on the antiballistic missle shield is about to launch us into a new arms race. All public opinion polls show that there is a great longing in this country for disarmament and a wish to be much more involved in the U.N. as well as a willingness to give up nuclear weapons. But we are stuck in our decision making by a concept of national security that is completely militarized. And the women who do all the peace work, they are invisible. I would not have believed it was possible. So what do we do now with this year and decade in the face of this absence of women from the decision table? You will remember that, under stress, women are inclined to "tend and befriend. " Where is that inclination to "tend and befriend" under stress more needed than at the tables where international negotiations take place? At the Dayton Accord Conferences, at all these places where we try to make decisions about handling conflicts turned violent: Ethiopia, Eritrea, anywhere you name in the Balkans, anywhere you name in Africa, in the Middle East, in Asia, not to mention Latin America. The skills for these negotiations are women's skills, not for biological reasons, but because they have developed in our experience world. We have got to share our experience world with men. But in the meantime we are not at the table. So what are we going to do with this U.N. International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence?
DISCOVERY OF CARBON RADIO RECOMBINATION LINES IN M82

Carbon radio recombination lines (RRLs) at low frequencies (≲ 500 MHz) trace the cold, diffuse phase of the interstellar medium, which is otherwise difficult to observe. We present the detection of carbon RRLs in absorption in M82 with the Low Frequency Array in the frequency range of 48–64 MHz. This is the first extragalactic detection of RRLs from a species other than hydrogen, and below 1 GHz. Since the carbon RRLs are not detected individually, we cross-correlated the observed spectrum with a template spectrum of carbon RRLs to determine a radial velocity of 219 km s−1. Using this radial velocity, we stack 22 carbon-α transitions from quantum levels n = 468–508 to achieve an 8. 5σ detection. The absorption line profile exhibits a narrow feature with peak optical depth of 3 × 10−3 and FWHM of 31 km s−1. Closer inspection suggests that the narrow feature is superimposed on a broad, shallow component. The total line profile appears to be correlated with the 21 cm H i line profile reconstructed from H i absorption in the direction of supernova remnants in the nucleus. The narrow width and centroid velocity of the feature suggests that it is associated with the nuclear starburst region. It is therefore likely that the carbon RRLs are associated with cold atomic gas in the direction of the nucleus of M82.
Atorvastatin suppresses interferon‐γ‐induced neopterin formation and tryptophan degradation in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and in monocytic cell lines

Inhibitors of 3‐hydroxy‐3methylglutaryl‐co‐enzyme A (HMG‐CoA) reductase, so‐called statins, are used in medical practice because of their lipid‐lowering effect and to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Recent findings indicate that statins also have anti‐inflammatory properties and can modulate the immune response. In vitro, we investigated the effect of atorvastatin on the T cell/macrophage system in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and in the human monocytic cell lines THP‐1 and MonoMac6. We monitored neopterin production and tryptophan degradation in PBMC after treatment with 10 µm and 100 µm atorvastatin in the presence or absence of 100 U/ml IFN‐γ, 10 µg/ml phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) or 10 µg/ml concanavalin A (ConA) and in monocytic cell lines THP‐1 and MonoMac6 with or without stimulation with 100 U/ml IFN‐γ or 10 ng/ml to 1 µg/ml lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In stimulated PBMC 100 µm atorvastatin inhibited neopterin formation and tryptophan degradation completely, whereas 10 µm atorvastatin was only partially effective. Also in monocytic cell lines THP‐1 and MonoMac6, atorvastatin was able to suppress IFN‐γ‐ and LPS‐induced formation of neopterin and degradation of tryptophan. Our data from PBMC agree well with previous investigations that statins inhibit T cell activation within the cellular immune response. In addition we demonstrate that atorvastatin directly inhibits IFN‐γ‐mediated pathways in monocytic cells, suggesting that both immunoreactivity of T cells and of monocyte‐derived macrophages are down‐regulated by this statin.
Status and Gender Differences in Early Adolescents' Descriptions of Popularity.

This study examined gender and status differences among sixth through eighth grade early adolescents' (N = 387) descriptions of what it means to be popular. More boys than girls specified being cool, athletic, funny, and defiant/risky, whereas more girls than boys identified wearing nice clothing, being attractive, mean, snobby, rude, and sociable as descriptors of popularity. Descriptions also varied as a function of the individual's status: adolescents who were perceived as popular described popularity primarily in positive terms, whereas adolescents perceived as average and unpopular used both positive and negative terms. Compared with their same‐gender peers, more popular boys indicated being cool, attractive, and athletic, whereas more popular girls specified being athletic and liked. Compared with popular girls, more average girls used the terms mean and conceited in their descriptions, whereas more average and unpopular girls indicated the term snobby. This study illustrates the complexity and variability in early adolescents' social constructions of popularity.
Comparing the statistics of interstellar turbulence in simulations and observations - Solenoidal versus compressive turbulence forcing

Context. Molecular clouds (MCs) exhibit supersonic turbulent velocity and density fluctuations on virtually all scales observed by modern telescopes. The origin and structural characteristics of this turbulence are, however, still poorly understood. Aims. To shed light on this subject, we study two extreme cases of turbulence forcing in numerical experiments: solenoidal (divergence-free) forcing, and compressive (curl-free) forcing. We compare our results to observational data reported in the literature. Methods. We solve the equations of isothermal hydrodynamics on periodic uniform grids with up to 1024 3 grid points. We compare results obtained with five di! erent analysis techniques to observational data: density probability distribution functions (PDFs), centroid velocity increments, principal component analyses, Fourier spectra and " -variances. Results. Using Fourier spectra and " -variance analyses, we find that both compressive and solenoidal forcings yield velocity dispersion‐size relations consistent with observations and independent numerical simulations. Compressive forcing yields stronger compression and rarefaction at the same RMS Mach number, resulting in roughly three times larger dispersions of volumetric and column density PDFs. Comparing these results with the column density PDFs obtained in the Perseus MC indicates the presence of a mainly compressive forcing agent within the Shell region investigated by Goodman and coworkers. The PDFs of both volumetric and column densities are typically close to log-normal distributions, but they nevertheless exhibit non-Gaussian higher-order moments (skewness and kurtosis) caused by intermittent fluctuations. We compare intermittency statistics of centroid velocity increments with observational studies by Hily-Blant et al., showing that the turbulence statistics of solenoidal forcing agree well with the statistics measured in the Polaris Flare. Furthermore, we compare results of principal component analysis with observational studies by Heyer et al., showing that G216-2.5 and most of the Rosette MC is in very good agreement with the statistics obtained in solenoidal forcing. On the other hand, the interior of an ionising shell within the Rosette MC displays clear signatures of compressive turbulence forcing. Additionally, we find a weak correlation between density and Mach number, such that the local Mach number decreases with increasing density on average. We speculate that this may naturally explain the observed transonic velocity dispersions typically measured for prestellar cores, if these cores formed close to the sonic scale in a supersonic turbulent medium. Conclusions. We conclude that both solenoidal and compressive forcings are compatible with observations. Depending on the subregion, observational data exhibit statistical signatures obtained for both solenoidal and compressive turbulence forcings, with compressive forcing primarily occurring in swept-up shells.
Throughput optimization for massive random access of M2M communications in LTE networks

A key challenge for enabling Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications in Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks is the intolerably low access efficiency in the presence of massive access requests. To address this issue, a new analytical framework is proposed in this paper to optimize the random access performance of M2M communications in LTE networks. Both the maximum network throughput and the corresponding optimal backoff parameters including the Access Class Barring (ACB) factor and the backoff window size are obtained as explicit functions of key system parameters such as the number of preambles, the number of Machine Type Devices (MTDs) and the aggregate input rate. The analysis is verified by simulations and sheds important light on practical network design for supporting massive access of M2M communications in LTE networks.
An Examination of the Acceptability of Instructional Practices for Students with Severe Disabilities in General Education Settings

This study investigated 51 instructional methods specifically targeted as best practices for the education of students with severe disabilities. A survey was mailed to 120 project directors, professors, administrators, and researchers who provided direct and/or indirect services to individuals with severe disabilities. A total of 53 surveys (44%) was returned and 51 were included in the final data analysis. Participants judged each method on familiarity, soundness, and appropriateness for implementation in general education settings. Findings indicated that all methods were judged both sound and appropriate by the majority of participants. Twelve methods, however, were considered inappropriate in academic settings by 20% or more of the respondents, whereas one method was considered inappropriate by at least 20% of participants in other regular education settings. Implications for practice, research, and preservice teacher preparation programs are discussed.