Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ROTATING ACCRETION FLOWS: FROM INFINITY TO THE BLACK HOLE

Accretion onto a supermassive black hole of a rotating inflow is a particularly difficult problem to study because of the wide range of length scales involved. There have been broadly utilized analytic and numerical treatments of the global properties of accretion flows, but detailed numerical simulations are required to address certain critical aspects. We use the ZEUS code to run hydrodynamical simulations of rotating, axisymmetric accretion flows with Bremsstrahlung cooling, considering solutions for which the centrifugal balance radius significantly exceeds the Schwarzschild radius, with and without viscous angular momentum transport. Infalling gas is followed from well beyond the Bondi radius down to the vicinity of the black hole. We produce a continuum of solutions with respect to the single parameter , and there is a sharp transition between two general classes of solutions at an Eddington ratio of . Our high inflow solutions are very similar to the standard Shakura & Sunyaev results. But our low inflow results are to zeroth order the stationary Papaloizou & Pringle solution, which has no accretion. To next order in the small, assumed viscosity they show circulation, with disk and conical wind outflows almost balancing inflow. These solutions are characterized by hot, vertically extended disks, and net accretion proceeds at an extremely low rate, only of order α times the inflow rate. Our simulations have converged with respect to spatial resolution and temporal duration, and they do not depend strongly on our choice of boundary conditions.
Fast Isosurface Extraction for Medical Volume Dataset on Cell BE

The size of volumetric data generated by medical imaging and scientific simulations is increased significantly due to the dramatic advances in medical imaging modalities and computing technologies. The volumetric data generally need to be visualized and Marching Cubes algorithm (MC for short) is one of the standard methods of the isosurface extraction for the medical applications. However, MC algorithm requires a large amount of data computing power. The Cell Broadband Engine (Cell for short) processor, which is a typical COTS (commodity off-the-shelf) heterogeneous designed to handle extremely demanding computations, can be used to hasten isosurface extraction in medial application. In this paper, we present a streaming model-based scheme to efficiently map MC algorithm to Cell. Specifically, a block-based filter running on PPE is imposed as a preprocessing stage to avoid unnecessary data transfer and computation, and the MC kernel runs on SPEs as the subsequent stage. Through tuning the size of the block, the workload of PPE and SPE is orchestrated harmoniously. The experimental results demonstrate that overall isosurface extraction speedup of more than 10 times is achieved compared with conventional heavy iron CPUs.
How Difficult Is It to Fold a Knotted Protein? In Silico Insights from Surface-Tethered Folding Experiments

We explore the effect of surface tethering on the folding process of a lattice protein that contains a trefoil knot in its native structure via Monte Carlo simulations. We show that the outcome of the tethering experiment depends critically on which terminus is used to link the protein to a chemically inert plane. In particular, if surface tethering occurs at the bead that is closer to the knotted core the folding rate becomes exceedingly slow and the protein is not able to find the native structure in all the attempted folding trajectories. Such low folding efficiency is also apparent from the analysis of the probability of knot formation, pknot, as a function of nativeness. Indeed, pknot increases abruptly from ∼0 to ∼1 only when the protein has more than 80% of its native contacts formed, showing that a highly compact conformation must undergo substantial structural re-arrangement in order to get effectively knotted. When the protein is surface tethered by the bead that is placed more far away from the knotted core pknot is higher than in the other folding setups (including folding in the bulk), especially if conformations are highly native-like. These results show that the mobility of the terminus closest to the knotted core is critical for successful folding of trefoil proteins, which, in turn, highlights the importance of a knotting mechanism that is based on a threading movement of this terminus through a knotting loop. The results reported here predict that if this movement is blocked, knotting occurs via an alternative mechanism, the so-called spindle mechanism, which is prone to misfolding. Our simulations show that in the three considered folding setups the formation of the knot is typically a late event in the folding process. We discuss the implications of our findings for co-translational folding of knotted trefoils.
Double-Via-Driven Standard Cell Library Design

Double-via placement is important for increasing chip manufacturing yield. Commercial tools and recent work have done a great job for it. However, they are found with a limited capability of placing more double vias (called vial) between metal 1 and metal 2. Such a limitation is caused by the way we design the standard cells and can not be resolved by developing better tools. This paper presents a double-via-driven standard cell library design approach to solving this problem. Compared to the results obtained using a commercial cell library, our library on average achieves 78% reduction in dead vias and 95% reduction in dead vials at the expense of 11% increase in total via count. We achieve these results (almost) at no extra cost in total cell area and wire length
Sphingosylphosphorylcholine acts in an anti-inflammatory manner in renal mesangial cells by reducing interleukin-1β-induced prostaglandin E2 formation Published, JLR Papers in Press, June 25, 2007.

Sphingosylphosphorylcholine (SPC) is a bioactive lipid that binds to G protein-coupled-receptors and activates various signaling cascades. Here, we show that in renal mesangial cells, SPC not only activates various protein kinase cascades but also activates Smad proteins, which are classical members of the transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) signaling pathway. Consequently, SPC is able to mimic TGFβ-mediated cell responses, such as an anti-inflammatory and a profibrotic response. Interleukin-1β-stimulated prostaglandin E2 formation is dose-dependently suppressed by SPC, which is paralleled by reduced secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) protein expression and activity. This effect is due to a reduction of sPLA2 mRNA expression caused by inhibited sPLA2 promoter activity. Furthermore, SPC upregulates the profibrotic connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) protein and mRNA expression. Blocking TGFβ signaling by a TGFβ receptor kinase inhibitor causes an inhibition of SPC-stimulated Smad activation and reverses both the negative effect of SPC on sPLA2 expression and the positive effect on CTGF expression. In summary, our data show that SPC, by mimicking TGFβ, leads to a suppression of proinflammatory mediator production and stimulates a profibrotic cell response that is often the end point of an anti-inflammatory reaction. Thus, targeting SPC receptors may represent a novel therapeutic strategy to cope with inflammatory diseases.
A Comparison of Assays for Accurate Copy Number Measurement of the Low-Affinity Fc Gamma Receptor Genes FCGR3A and FCGR3B

The FCGR3 locus encoding the low affinity activating receptor FcγRIII, plays a vital role in immunity triggered by cellular effector and regulatory functions. Copy number of the genes FCGR3A and FCGR3B has previously been reported to affect susceptibility to several autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammatory conditions. However, such genetic association studies often yield inconsistent results; hence require assays that are robust with low error rate. We investigated the accuracy and efficiency in estimating FCGR3 CNV by comparing Sequenom MassARRAY and paralogue ratio test-restriction enzyme digest variant ratio (PRT-REDVR). In addition, since many genetic association studies of FCGR3B CNV were carried out using real-time quantitative PCR, we have also included the evaluation of that method’s performance in estimating the multi-allelic CNV of FCGR3B. The qPCR assay exhibited a considerably broader distribution of signal intensity, potentially introducing error in estimation of copy number and higher false positive rates. Both Sequenom and PRT-REDVR showed lesser systematic bias, but Sequenom skewed towards copy number normal (CN = 2). The discrepancy between Sequenom and PRT-REDVR might be attributed either to batch effects noise in individual measurements. Our study suggests that PRT-REDVR is more robust and accurate in genotyping the CNV of FCGR3, but highlights the needs of multiple independent assays for extensive validation when performing a genetic association study with multi-allelic CNVs.
You are never alone: understanding the educational potential of an ‘urban solo’ in promoting place-responsiveness

Abstract Solos have a long history in outdoor learning (education) for their use in ‘wilderness’ settings. They have been theorised in experiential education literature and through phenomenological concepts where dwelling and solitude provide unstructured time for individual reflection. Place-Based Education provides opportunities for educators to develop place-responsive practices in areas local to where people live, work and study. This paper reports on an exploratory investigation into a Masters-level course. Students were required to undertake an ‘urban solo’ in a familiar place and consider how ontological disruption might be nurtured in city-based locations. Six students participated in semi-structured interviews which were then analysed thematically using a constructivist grounded theory approach. Findings revealed that their solo experiences had had a profound and unexpected effect on all students. These changes seemed to occur as the result of an ontological shift in the students from being passive receptors of stimuli to engaging more actively with their surroundings. We concluded that, because of its simplicity and close proximity to school grounds, the urban solo is one way for teachers to overcome the barriers they consistently report to outdoor learning. We recommend that future studies draw further on urban theorists to develop more city-based, place-responsive practices.
Validation of an EFL learner's self-efficacy questionnaire using the Rasch model

Self-efficacy plays a key role in learners' learning processes by helping or hindering their development (Bandura, 1984). Based on related studies (e.g. Littel, 1991; Lier, 2010) one major point affected on language learning is self-efficacy. To this aim, a 35-item an EFL learners’ self-efficacy questionnaire was adapted and validated by the application of the Rasch model. The test was developed in Persian to be used for Iranian EFL learners. A total number of 987 EFL learners learning English in different language institutions of Iran participated in this study. The results revealed that the Rasch model fits the test after removing 10 items from the scale. Moreover, it is confirmed that the scale enjoyed suitable reliability. This proposes that the questionnaire is potentially valid and can be used as a measure of EFL learners’ self-efficacy.
Maximum Likelihood Inference of the Evolutionary History of a PPI Network from the Duplication History of Its Proteins

Evolutionary history of protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks provides valuable insight into molecular mechanisms of network growth. In this paper, we study how to infer the evolutionary history of a PPI network from its protein duplication relationship. We show that for a plausible evolutionary history of a PPI network, its relative quality, measured by the so-called loss number, is independent of the growth parameters of the network and can be computed efficiently. This finding leads us to propose two fast maximum likelihood algorithms to infer the evolutionary history of a PPI network given the duplication history of its proteins. Simulation studies demonstrated that our approach, which takes advantage of protein duplication information, outperforms NetArch, the first maximum likelihood algorithm for PPI network history reconstruction. Using the proposed method, we studied the topological change of the PPI networks of the yeast, fruitfly, and worm.
Negotiation as Social Interaction

Why negotiators fail to find and implement mutually beneficial solutions is a central question in negotiation research. In answering this question, researchers have often focused on how situational and cognitive factors shape negotiators' outcomes. The relationship between negotiators' strategies and their subsequent outcomes is relatively less well investigated, although no less informative. In this article, I focus on post-1990 research to highlight some of the insights obtained from exploring communication processes in dyadic negotiations. This discussion identifies not only the need for further research in this field, but also the need to improve our understanding of how dyad composition and social cognition shape the negotiation process and outcomes.
Pragmatization of Information Systems - A Theoretical and Methodological Outline

Pragmatization of information systems means to climb the semiotic ladder from the syntactic and semantic levels, and take the pragmatic use of language as a starting point for understanding information and information systems as social phenomena. This thesis concerns theory and method for conceiving and developing information systems based on such an understanding. We propose an action theory of information systems, which is founded in the information system methods tradition, based on a language action perspective, and influenced by current and important trends within the fields of information systems, software engineering, and human-computer interaction. As a methodological consequence of the theory, a re-design of an existing systems engineering method has been performed as a combination of theoretical work and action research. Both the theory and the method, as well as the empirical work, are presented and elaborated upon in this thesis. This work has been financially supported by Örebro University and The Swedish National Board for Industrial and Technical Development (NUTEK).
Talk or Walk? Gait Speed over Self-Report in Association with Cognitive Speed in Healthy Older Adults

This study explores the relative value of both subjectively reported cognitive speed and gait speed in association with objectively derived cognitive speed. It also explores how these factors are affected by psychological and physical well-being. A group of 90 cognitively healthy older adults (M = 73.38, SD = 8.06 years, range = 60–89 years) were tested in a three-task cognitive battery to determine objective cognitive speed as well as measures of gait speed, well-being, and subjective cognitive speed. Analyses indicated that gait speed was associated with objective cognitive speed to a greater degree than was subjective report, the latter being more closely related to well-being than to objective cognitive speed. These results were largely invariant across the 30-year age range of our older adult sample.
The SAURON project – XVII. Stellar population analysis of the absorption line strength maps of 48 early-type galaxies

We present a stellar population analysis of the absorption line strength maps for 48 early-type galaxies from the SAURON sample. Using the line strength index maps of H beta, Fe5015 and Mgb, measured in the Lick/IDS system and spatially binned to a constant signal-to-noise ratio, together with predictions from up-to-date stellar population models, we estimate the simple stellar population-equivalent (SSP-equivalent) age, metallicity and abundance ratio [alpha/Fe] over a two-dimensional field extending up to approximately one effective radius. A discussion of calibrations and differences between model predictions is given. Maps of SSP-equivalent age, metallicity and abundance ratio [alpha/Fe] are presented for each galaxy. We find a large range of SSP-equivalent ages in our sample, of which similar to 40 per cent of the galaxies show signs of a contribution from a young stellar population. The most extreme cases of post-starburst galaxies, with SSP-equivalent ages of The flattened components with disc-like kinematics previously identified in all fast rotators are shown to be connected to regions of distinct stellar populations. These range from the young, still star-forming circumnuclear discs and rings with increased metallicity preferentially found in intermediate-mass fast rotators, to apparently old structures with extended disc-like kinematics, which are observed to have an increased metallicity and mildly depressed [alpha/Fe] ratio compared to the main body of the galaxy. The slow rotators, often harbouring kinematically decoupled components (KDC) in their central regions, generally show no stellar population signatures over and above the well-known metallicity gradients in early-type galaxies and are largely consistent with old (>= 10 Gyr) stellar populations. Using radially averaged stellar population gradients we find in agreement with Spolaor et al. a mass-metallicity gradient relation where low-mass fast rotators form a sequence of increasing metallicity gradient with increasing mass. For more massive systems (above similar to 3.5 x 10(10) M-circle dot) there is an overall downturn such that metallicity gradients become shallower with increased scatter at a given mass leading to the most massive systems being slow rotators with relatively shallow metallicity gradients. The observed shallower metallicity gradients and increased scatter could be a consequence of the competition between different star formation and assembly scenarios following a general trend of diminishing gas fractions and more equal-mass mergers with increasing mass, leading to the most massive systems being devoid of ordered motion and signs of recent star formation.
The Complexity of Ferromagnetic Ising with Local Fields

We consider the complexity of approximating the partition function of the ferromagnetic Ising model with varying interaction energies and local external magnetic fields. Jerrum and Sinclair provided a fully polynomial randomized approximation scheme for the case in which the system is consistent in the sense that the local external fields all favour the same spin. We characterize the complexity of the general problem by showing that it is equivalent in complexity to the problem of approximately counting independent sets in bipartite graphs, thus it is complete in a logically defined subclass of #P previously studied by Dyer, Goldberg, Greenhill and Jerrum. By contrast, we show that the corresponding computational task for the $q$-state Potts model with local external magnetic fields and $q>2$ is complete for all of #P with respect to approximation-preserving reductions.
Inequity Aversion, Financial Markets, and Output Fluctuations

Drawing on recent advances in the study of reference dependent utility we model financial markets as a coordination game with multiple equilibria. Asset valuations may change endogenously through re-coordination which induces fluctuations in output. These fluctuations are shown to be quantitatively relevant and inefficient. (JEL: G12) Copyright (c) 2004 The European Economic Association.
Face Recognition: Features Versus Templates

Two new algorithms for computer recognition of human faces, one based on the computation of a set of geometrical features, such as nose width and length, mouth position, and chin shape, and the second based on almost-gray-level template matching, are presented. The results obtained for the testing sets show about 90% correct recognition using geometrical features and perfect recognition using template matching. >
Between Physics and Perception: Signal Models for High Level Audio Processing

The use of signal models is one of the key factors enabling us to establish high quality signal transformation algorithms with intuitive high level control parameters. In the present article we will discuss signal models, and the signal trans- formation algorithms that are based on these models, in re- lation to the physical properties of the sound source and the properties of human sound perception. We will argue that the implementation of perceptually intuitive high qual- ity signal transformation algorithms requires strong links between the signal models and the perceptually relevant physical properties of the sound source. We will present an overview over the history of 2 sound models that are used for sound transformation and will show how the past and fu- ture evolution of sound transformation algorithms is driven by our understanding of the physical world.
Uniformization of Deligne-Mumford curves

Abstract We compute the fundamental groups of non-singular analytic Deligne-Mumford curves, classify the simply connected ones, and classify analytic Deligne-Mumford curves by their uniformization type. As a result, we find an explicit presentation of an arbitrary Deligne-Mumford curve as a quotient stack. Along the way, we compute the automorphism 2-groups of weighted projective stacks 𝒫(n 1, n 2, … n r ). We also discuss connections with the theory of F-groups, 2-groups, and Bass-Serre theory of graphs of groups.
Using Amazon Mechanical Turk for linguistic research

Amazon’s Mechanical Turk service makes linguistic experimentation quick, easy, and inexpensive. However, researchers have not been certain about its reliability. In a series of experiments, this paper compares data collected via Mechanical Turk to those obtained using more traditional methods One set of experiments measured the predictability of words in sentences using the Cloze sentence completion task (Taylor, 1953). The correlation between traditional and Turk Cloze scores is high (rho=0.823) and both data sets perform similarly against alternative measures of contextual predictability. Five other experiments on the semantic relatedness of verbs and phrasal verbs (how much is “lift” part of “lift up”) manipulate the presence of the sentence context and the composition of the experimental list. The results indicate that Turk data correlate well between experiments and with data from traditional methods (rho up to 0.9), and they show high inter-rater consistency and agreement. We conclude that Mechanical Turk is a reliable source of data for complex linguistic tasks in heavy use by psycholinguists. The paper provides suggestions for best practices in data collection and scrubbing.
The Adoption and Design of Enterprise Risk Management Practices: An Empirical Study

We examine (1) the extent of enterprise risk management (ERM) implementation and the factors that are associated with cross-sectional differences in the level of ERM adoption, and (2) specific risk management design choices and their effect on perceived risk management effectiveness. Broadly consistent with previous work in this area, we find that the extent of ERM implementation is influenced by the regulatory environment, internal factors, ownership structure, and firm and industry-related characteristics. In addition, we find that perceived risk management effectiveness is associated with the frequency of risk assessment and reporting, and with the use of quantitative risk assessment techniques. However, our results raise some concerns as to the COSO (Committee of Sponsoring Organizations) framework. Particularly, we find no evidence that application of the COSO framework improves risk management effectiveness. Neither do we find support for the mechanistic view on risk management that is implied by COSO's recommendations on risk appetite and tolerance.