Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experiences of Nonincarcerated African American Male Youth With an Incarcerated Male Sibling

Experiences of Nonincarcerated African American Male Youth With an Incarcerated Male Sibling by Fred Nana Biney MS, Southern Connecticut State University, 1998 BS, Southern Connecticut State University, 1994 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Human Services: Criminal Justice Walden University October 2016 Abstract Approximately half of all incarcerated individuals in the United States are young African American men. Researchers have documented that nonincarcerated siblings may commit a crime when their sibling is in prison. The current study addressed literature regarding the experiences, and coping strategies of nonincarcerated young African American men who live in the inner city, and have a male sibling in prison. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study explored the lived experiences and coping strategies of African American male youth with a brother in incarceration. Purposive sampling was used to select 3 nonincarcerated African American young men aged 18 to 24 years living in the inner city of a large city in southern Connecticut for in-depth interviews. Overall findings showed that while having an incarcerated sibling was a profoundly negative experience for study participants, and their families, the study participants also developed some positive coping strategies as a result of their experiences. These results could help policymakers, social workers, counselors, and criminal justice professionals understand the impacts of siblingApproximately half of all incarcerated individuals in the United States are young African American men. Researchers have documented that nonincarcerated siblings may commit a crime when their sibling is in prison. The current study addressed literature regarding the experiences, and coping strategies of nonincarcerated young African American men who live in the inner city, and have a male sibling in prison. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study explored the lived experiences and coping strategies of African American male youth with a brother in incarceration. Purposive sampling was used to select 3 nonincarcerated African American young men aged 18 to 24 years living in the inner city of a large city in southern Connecticut for in-depth interviews. Overall findings showed that while having an incarcerated sibling was a profoundly negative experience for study participants, and their families, the study participants also developed some positive coping strategies as a result of their experiences. These results could help policymakers, social workers, counselors, and criminal justice professionals understand the impacts of sibling incarceration, and learn how to deal more effectively with youth affected by it.
Conceptual metaphor variation in meaning interpretation: Evidence from speakers of New Zealand English

This paper contributes to research on metaphor variation in the context of world Englishes from a theoretical and an empirical point of view. Starting with a discussion of the dissonance between universality and cultural specificity in conceptual metaphor research, basic dimensions of variation are outlined that are relevant to conceptual metaphor theory (CMT). These dimensions inform a continuum of variation in CMT that ranges from basic conceptualizations (as primary metaphors) to the surface level of language use (as metaphorical expressions). The empirical part of the paper takes heed of this continuum of variation and outlines the methodological choices relevant to the description of conceptual metaphors in an associative task. The data are based on meaning interpretations given to novel English compounds by Māori and non-Māori speakers of New Zealand English. The results of the task highlight that Māori-English bilinguals apply a greater range of different conceptual metaphors compared to non-Māori bilingual and monolingual speakers of English. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for further research on metaphor variation in Aotearoa New Zealand and world Englishes.
Access to biologic treatment for rheumatoid arthritis in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries

Summary Background The aim of this study was to assess and compare patients’ access to biologic anti-RA drugs in selected Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and to analyze the determinants of differences between countries. Material/Methods This is a multi-country survey study, based on a combination of desk research and direct contact with national RA stakeholders. Data was collected using a pre-defined questionnaire. Affordability was measured using an affordability index, calculated comparing the index of health care expenditures to the price index, using Poland as an index of 1. Results The percentage of patients on biologic treatment in 2009 was highest in Hungary (5% RA patients on biologic treatment), followed by Slovenia (4.5%), Slovakia (3.5%), Czech Republic (2.92%), Romania (2.2%), Estonia (1.8%), and Croatia, Serbia, Poland (below 1.5%). Infliximab, etanercept, adalimumab and rituximab were included in the reimbursement system in all countries, but abatacept and tocilizumab were included only in Slovakia. In Slovenia, public payer covered 75% of the price, and 25% is covered by supplementary health insurance; in Bulgaria public payer covered 50% of etanercept and adalimumab costs, and 75% of rituximab cost. In other countries, biologic drugs are reimbursed at 100%. Affordability index for biologic drugs was the lowest in Slovenia (0.4). In each country national guidelines define which patients are eligible for biologic treatment. Disease Activity Score (DAS28) of over 5.1 and failure of 2 or more disease-modifying anti-RA drugs, including methotrexate, are commonly used criteria. Conclusions The most important factors limiting access to biologic anti-RA treatment in the CEE region are macroeconomic conditions and restrictive treatment guidelines.
The Intrinsic Properties of SMM J14011+0252

We discuss the properties of the bright submillimeter source SMM J14011+0252 at z = 2.56, which lies behind the central regions of the z = 0.25 lensing cluster A1835. This system has a complex optical morphology consisting of at least five separate components. We reassess the extensive multiwavelength observations of this system and find strong support for the suggestion that one of these five components represents a foreground galaxy. The spectral and morphological properties of the foreground galaxy indicate that it is a low-luminosity, passive early-type disk member of the A1835 cluster. We estimate the likely properties of the dark matter halo of this galaxy from its stellar distribution. Based on these estimates we suggest that, contrary to earlier claims, this foreground galaxy is unlikely to significantly magnify the background submillimeter source. Thus, SMM J14011+0252 probably represents an intrinsically luminous submillimeter galaxy.
From myths to memes

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Do O-stars form in isolation?

Around 4 per cent of O-stars are observed in apparent isolation, with no associated cluster, and no indication of having been ejected from a nearby cluster. We define an isolated O-star as a star >17.5 Min a cluster with total mass 10 M� ) stars. We show that the fraction of apparently isolated O-stars is reproduced when stars are sampled (randomly) from a standard initial mass function and a standard cluster mass function of the form N(M) ∝ M −2 . This result is difficult to reconcile with the idea that there is a fundamental relationship between the mass of a cluster and the mass of the most massive star in that cluster. We suggest that such a relationship is a typical result of star formation in clusters, and that 'isolated O-stars' are low-mass clusters in which massive stars have been able to form.
Spectral Evolution of PKS 2155–304 Observed with BeppoSAX during an Active Gamma-Ray Phase

We present the results of BeppoSAX observations of PKS 2155-304 during an intense gamma-ray flare. The source was in a high X-ray state. A temporal analysis of the data reveals a tendency of the amplitude of variations to increase with energy and the presence of a soft lag with a timescale of the order 103 s. A curved continuum spectrum, with no evidence of spectral features, extends up to ~50 keV, while there is indication of a flatter component emerging at higher energies, consistent with the interpretation of the broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) due to synchrotron self-Compton emission from a single region. Notably, the fitting of the SED with such a model is consistent with an interpretation of the detected soft lag due to radiative cooling, supporting the idea that radiation losses play an important role in variability. The observed shifts of the SED peaks between the lowest and highest flux levels can be accounted for by an increase of the "break" energy in the relativistic particle spectrum. The model predicts emission at TeV energies in good agreement with the recently reported detection.
The stellar populations of spiral galaxies

ABSTRA C T We have used a large sample of low-inclination spiral galaxies with radially resolved optical and near-infrared photometry to investigate trends in star formation history with radius as a function of galaxy structural parameters. A maximum-likelihood method was used to match all the available photometry of our sample to the colours predicted by stellar population synthesis models. The use of simplistic star formation histories, uncertainties in the stellar population models and considering the importance of dust all compromise the absolute ages and metallicities derived in this work; however, our conclusions are robust in a relative sense. We find that most spiral galaxies have stellar population gradients, in the sense that their inner regions are older and more metal rich than their outer regions. Our main conclusion is that the surface density of a galaxy drives its star formation history, perhaps through a local density dependence in the star formation law. The mass of a galaxy is a less important parameter; the age of a galaxy is relatively unaffected by its mass; however, the metallicity of galaxies depends on both surface density and mass. This suggests that galaxymass-dependent feedback is an important process in the chemical evolution of galaxies. In addition, there is significant cosmic scatter suggesting that mass and density may not be the only parameters affecting the star formation history of a galaxy.
An analysis of compliments and responses to compliments in the film entitled the holiday

This research focuses on the compliments used by the characters in the film entitled “The Holiday”. This research was conducted to describe the types of topics of compliment employed by the characters in the film entitled “The Holiday”, the functions of each type of topics of compliment, and also the compliment responses expressed by the addressees in the film. This research is a descriptive qualitative research. This research uses pragmatic approach. The technique of sampling used is total sampling. All conversations containing compliments and the compliment responses were taken as the data. Based on the data analysis, the researcher draws conclusions as follows: There are four types of topics of compliments employed by the characters in the film entitled “The Holiday”. They are topic of personal appearance, topic of possession, topic of general ability, and topic of specific-act ability. Based on Wolfson’s classification of compliment functions, there are six functions of compliment proposed by Wolfson found in this research. They are: to affirm solidarity, to create or maintain rapport, to express admiration or approval, to encourage, to express positive evaluation, and also to strengthen or replace other speech act formulas. In responding the compliments, most of the addressees accept the compliments. The response acceptance of the compliment includes verbal and non verbal acceptance. In verbal acceptance, the addresses deliver the word thanks to respond to the speaker’s compliment. Meanwhile, the addressees respond to the compliment by smiling in the non verbal acceptance. Other upgrade, down grade, reassignment, question, and giving no acknowledgement. In the comment acceptance, the addressees accept the compliment and offer a relevant comment on the compliment. In the praise upgrade, the addressee accepts and asserts insufficiently of the compliment’s force. Meanwhile, in down grade, the compliment is not worth. In response of question, the addressee questions the sincerity or the appropriateness of the speaker’s compliment. Finally, in No Acknowledgment, the addressees give no indication of having heard the compliment, shift the topic, and even give no response. Based on the conclusions above, the researcher hopes that this research will give a contribution to the students in studying the speech act of compliments. There are still many cases on the study of compliments. It is suggested to other researchers who are interested in compliment speech act to conduct a further research on compliment structure and its vocabulary.
An object oriented calculation process framework

Modern software applications are relying on increasingly complex calculation processes to perform tasks that are required. An object oriented calculation process framework is presented which brings calculations into the object oriented world. It does this by making each calculation process into a separate object with specific input and output variables. The benefit of this framework over existing ones is that the data types for the input or output variables do not have to descend from a framework specific data class. The framework still provides data type error checking by using reflection which is an advanced feature of . NET. The framework also discovers all sub-processes within the user defined process class using the same mechanism of reflection. The framework allows the process developer to concentrate on writing clean calculation code instead of wasting time writing error handling and process modeling code.
Probabilistic Low-Rank Matrix Completion from Quantized Measurements

We consider the recovery of a low rank real-valued matrix M given a subset of noisy discrete (or quantized) measurements. Such problems arise in several applications such as collaborative filtering, learning and content analytics, and sensor network localization. We consider constrained maximum likelihood estimation of M, under a constraint on the entry-wise infinity-norm of M and an exact rank constraint. We provide upper bounds on the Frobenius norm of matrix estimation error under this model. Previous theoretical investigations have focused on binary (1-bit) quantizers, and been based on convex relaxation of the rank. Compared to the existing binary results, our performance upper bound has faster convergence rate with matrix dimensions when the fraction of revealed observations is fixed. We also propose a globally convergent optimization algorithm based on low rank factorization of M and validate the method on synthetic and real data, with improved performance over previous methods.
Foundations of human reasoning in the prefrontal cortex

Selecting the most successful strategy The brain's prefrontal cortex helps us to make decisions in an uncertain and constantly changing environment. Donoso et al. present a model of human reasoning as an algorithm implemented in the prefrontal cortex (see the Perspective by Hare). Brain-imaging experiments supported this model. Depending on the prevailing circumstances, human reasoning can either adapt ongoing behavioral strategies or switch to previously learned strategies. Only when neither approach is appropriate will the brain create new strategies. Science, this issue p. 1481, see also p. 1446 Human reasoning combines inferential and creative processes. [Also see Perspective by Hare] The prefrontal cortex (PFC) subserves reasoning in the service of adaptive behavior. Little is known, however, about the architecture of reasoning processes in the PFC. Using computational modeling and neuroimaging, we show here that the human PFC has two concurrent inferential tracks: (i) one from ventromedial to dorsomedial PFC regions that makes probabilistic inferences about the reliability of the ongoing behavioral strategy and arbitrates between adjusting this strategy versus exploring new ones from long-term memory, and (ii) another from polar to lateral PFC regions that makes probabilistic inferences about the reliability of two or three alternative strategies and arbitrates between exploring new strategies versus exploiting these alternative ones. The two tracks interact and, along with the striatum, realize hypothesis testing for accepting versus rejecting newly created strategies.
Unilateral Lymphangiomatous Polyp of the Palatine Tonsil in a Very Young Child: A Clinicopathologic Case Report

Childhood lymphangiomatous polyp of the palatine tonsil is a very unusual lesion found in the head and neck. Tonsillectomy has been reported to be the curative procedure of choice for this lesion. We report a case of a very young child with unilateral lymphangiomatous polyp of the palatine tonsil.
Striatal Synaptic Dysfunction and Hippocampal Plasticity Deficits in the Hu97/18 Mouse Model of Huntington Disease

Huntington disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the gene (HTT) encoding the huntingtin protein (HTT). This mutation leads to multiple cellular and synaptic alterations that are mimicked in many current HD animal models. However, the most commonly used, well-characterized HD models do not accurately reproduce the genetics of human disease. Recently, a new ‘humanized’ mouse model, termed Hu97/18, has been developed that genetically recapitulates human HD, including two human HTT alleles, no mouse Hdh alleles and heterozygosity of the HD mutation. Previously, behavioral and neuropathological testing in Hu97/18 mice revealed many features of HD, yet no electrophysiological measures were employed to investigate possible synaptic alterations. Here, we describe electrophysiological changes in the striatum and hippocampus of the Hu97/18 mice. At 9 months of age, a stage when cognitive deficits are fully developed and motor dysfunction is also evident, Hu97/18 striatal spiny projection neurons (SPNs) exhibited small changes in membrane properties and lower amplitude and frequency of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs); however, release probability from presynaptic terminals was unaltered. Strikingly, these mice also exhibited a profound deficiency in long-term potentiation (LTP) at CA3-to-CA1 synapses. In contrast, at 6 months of age we found only subtle alterations in SPN synaptic transmission, while 3-month old animals did not display any electrophysiologically detectable changes in the striatum and CA1 LTP was intact. Together, these data reveal robust, progressive deficits in synaptic function and plasticity in Hu97/18 mice, consistent with previously reported behavioral abnormalities, and suggest an optimal age (9 months) for future electrophysiological assessment in preclinical studies of HD.
On Distributed Coordination of Mobile Agents with Changing Nearest Neighbors

In a recent paper [10], we provided a formal analysis for a distributed coordination strategy proposed in [17] for coordination of a set of agents moving in the plane with the same speed but variable heading direction. Each agents heading is updated as the average of its heading and a set of its nearest neighbors. As the agents move, the graph induced by the nearest neighbor relationship changes, resulting in switching. We recently demonstrated that by modelling the system as a discrete linear inclusion (in a discrete time setting) and a switched linear system (in continuous time setting), conditions for convergence of all headings to the same value can be provided. In this paper, we extend these results and demonstrate that in order for convergence to happen switching has to stop in a finite time. Moreover, we will show that a necessary and sufficient condition for convergence is that the switching stops on a connected graph. We also provide connections between this problem and Left convergent product (LCP) sets of matrices.
What determines the direction of subliminal priming

Masked stimuli (primes) can affect the preparation of a motor response to subsequently presented target stimuli. Reactions to the target can be facilitated (straight priming) or inhibited (inverse priming) when preceded by a compatible prime (calling for the same response) and also when preceded by an incompatible prime. Several hypotheses are currently under debate. These are the self-inhibition (SI) hypothesis, the object-updating (OU) hypothesis, and mask-triggered inhibition (MTI) hypothesis. All assume that the initial activation of the motor response is elicited by the prime according to its identity. This activation inevitably leads to straight priming in some cases and the mechanisms involved are undisputed. The hypotheses differ, however, as to why inverse priming occurs. The self-inhibition (SI) hypothesis assumes that the motor activation elicited by a prime is automatically followed by an inhibition phase, leading to inverse priming if three conditions are fulfilled: perceptual evidence for the prime has to be sufficiently strong, it has to be immediately removed by the mask, and the delay between the prime and target has to be long enough for inhibition to become effective. The object-updating (OU) hypothesis assumes that inverse priming is triggered by the mask, provided that it contains features calling for the alternative response (i.e. the one contrasting with the response induced by the prime). The MTI hypothesis assumes that the inhibitory phase is triggered by each successive stimulus which does not support the perceptual hypothesis provided by the prime. Based mostly on our own experiments, we argue that (1) attempts to manipulate the three factors required by the SI hypothesis imply changes of other variables and that (2) indeed, other variables seem to affect priming: prime-mask perceptual interaction and temporal position of the mask. These observations are in favor of the MTI hypothesis. A limiting factor for all three hypotheses is that inverse priming is larger for arrows than for other shapes, making it doubtful as to what extent the majority of studies on inverse priming, due to their use of arrows, can be generalized to other stimuli.