Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Metallic foams characterization using X-ray microtomography

Abstact Due to their multi properties, metallic foams have become of major interest for both, basic research as well as industrial applications. In order to implement a thin modelling approach of fluid flows in such porous media, a three dimensional investigation of their internal structure is fundamental. An open-cell nickel foam is imaged using X-ray microtomography. The morphology of the foam is studied in detail using 3D image analysis. Parameters as the strut length and orientation distributions, the connectivity and the specific surface are determined from the 3D rendering volume of the foam to characterize the metallic structure. To qualify the porous space, we propose a 3D segmentation method based on the alpha-shapes approach. Pore size and orientation distributions are determined. This approach provides a tool to study the relationships between the foam microstructure and the physical properties, that should allow to determine optimal foams for given
The relationship between family socioeconomic condition and childhood injury frequency in selected locations in the Czech Republic

Summary Background Childhood injury rates are monitored worldwide because they markedly affect morbidity and mortality of children. There are numerous works that point out the relationship between family socioeconomic status and injuries, where lower socioeconomic levels are linked to higher numbers of injuries. Material/Methods The goal of this work was to evaluate the relationship between family socioeconomic status and childhood injuries in the Czech Republic. The research was carried out between 1/7/2009 and 31/12/2010. A 2-part questionnaire was used to gather information. The first part, “Injury/poisoning of children,” included information on the injury itself; the second part, “Family functionality,” concerned family socioeconomic situations. We collected a total of 874 questionnaires in the South-Bohemian region and 132 questionnaires from a selected county in the North-Bohemian region. A database identical with the questionnaire assignment was established, comprising all the data accumulated. Results The injury rate in families living in poor socioeconomic situations in locality 8 was statistically significantly higher compared to families in good socioeconomic situations. The number of home injuries was 205. Families with incomes that were twice the subsistence level had more child protective measures in their households. There was a statistically significant relationship between the number of child protective measures and injury frequency in families. Children in families having higher incomes (twice that of subsistence level) were more likely to suffer injuries related to organized sports as compared to those in families having lower incomes. Conclusions The literature and research data show that preventive programs have the largest effect on reduction in childhood morbidity and mortality with respect to injuries.
HIRING UNDER UNCERTAINTY AND FIRM DYNAMICS

In this paper we develop a labour market model where heterogeneity in employment growth is rationalized through endogenous decisions taken by the firms. At micro level, firms decide simultaneously about job creation and workers replacement. The main features of the model are uncertainty related to worker × firm matches productivity and search frictions. Combining these two stochastic dimensions allows to address other issues beyond employment growth. First, the employment dynamics of the model encompass both components of worker flows, namely job flows and replacement. Also, unemployment determination and it’s dynamics can be analysed through our model. Finally some facts on productivity dynamics are also rationalized. This makes the model an useful device to evaluate implications of policy shocks on several dimensions of the labor market.
A Qualitative Exploration of the Coping Strategies of Female Offenders in Nigerian Prisons

Deprivation and importation theories propose that the experience and adjustment of inmates to prison life is dependent on the restrictive prison milieu and their pre-prison experiences and orientation. This implies that prison’s sub-culture mediate the relationship between demographic characteristics and adjustment to prison life. Although this core assumption underlies both theories, few researchers have attempted to test its validity, while those that does have largely focused on male offenders. Guided by an integration of the two theories, this current study explored the specific gender-related challenges that female inmates of Nigerian prisons are confronted with and the adjustment measures adopted by female prisoners. Qualitative, in-depth oral interviews were employed to gather information from 32 purposively selected female inmates and six prison officials of Ijebu-Ode and Old Abeokuta prisons. There are evidential supports for the integrative/alliance theory as key findings of this study confirm determinants of adjustability of the inmates to prison life as including age, level of religious commitment, years of incarceration, prison history, and pre-prison experience like socioeconomic, marital (especially those with children) and educational status. Various strategies used to adjust to prison life by the inmates included self-withdrawal, indulgence and some level of social reclusion (asceticism); forging cordial relationships with fellow inmates and staff; and participating very actively in the religious programmes within the prisons. The study suggests that both government and nongovernmental organisations should intervene and develop social supports that recognise the biogenic peculiarities of female inmates in order for the prisons to meet the two objectives of rehabilitating and reforming the female offenders.
Connectome of a model local cortical circuit flexibly shapes layer-dependent multi-frequency oscillations

The role played by interlayer connections in shaping local responses and their long-range coupling has not yet been fully elucidated. Here, we analyze a rate model of a canonic local circuit with realistic anatomy. We find that this circuit generates a rich repertoire of possible dynamical states, including an oscillatory regime in which gamma-and beta-oscillations dominate in superficial and deep layers, respectively, in agreement with experimental observations. This regime stems from non-linear inter-layer interactions, independently from intrinsic resonance properties of distinct layers. Moreover, by connecting two local circuits via cortico-cortical projections, the emergent phase differences define a flexible and frequency-dependent inter-areal hierarchy. Such dynamic patterns generally do not arise in randomized circuits, and the compatible connectomes are rare, although not unique. Altogether, these results suggest that inter-layer connectivity is homeostatically regulated to make local circuits fit to integrate and multiplex signals from several sources in multiple frequency bands. Author Summary The local circuit of mammalian cortex presents a characteristic multilayered structure, with feedforward (and feedback) cortico-cortical connections originating from (and targeting) distinct and well defined layers. Here, we model how such a structure fundamentally shapes the dynamical repertoire of local cortical oscillatory states and their long-range interaction. Experimental evidence, matched by our simulations, suggests that different cortical layers oscillate at different frequencies and that neuronal oscillations at different frequencies are exploited for communication in different directions. While this laminar specificity of oscillations is often explained in terms of multiple inhibitory populations with different resonance properties, we show here that it could alternatively emerge as a byproduct of the collective local circuit dynamics. Our modelling study indicates furthermore that the empirically observed multi-frequency oscillatory patterns cannot be reproduced in presence of an arbitrary interlayer connectivity. In this sense, therefore, we believe that the adopted connectome, derived from neuroanatomical reconstructions, is “special”. Nevertheless, it is not unique, since other, very different connectomes may also lead to a matching dynamical repertoire. This suggests that a multiplicity of non-random canonical circuit templates may share largely overlapping functions, robustly achieved and maintained via functional homeostasis mechanisms.
Ja n 20 07 VHE Gamma-ray supernova remnants

Increasing observational evidence gathered especially in X-rays and γ-rays during the course of the last few years support the notion that Supernova remnants (SNRs) are Galactic particle accelerators up to energies close to the " knee " in the energy spectrum of Cosmic rays. This review summarises the current status of γ-ray observations of SNRs. Shell-type as well as plerionic type SNRs are addressed and prospect for observations of these two source classes with the upcoming GLAST satellite in the energy regime above 100 MeV are given.
A Comparative Study of OpenStack and CloudStack

Even though of its very recent origins, Cloud Computing has matured into a main stream technology over the past few years. Private cloud, where an organization sets up an internal cloud infrastructure, is gaining traction these days because of its perceived security advantages. Two of the major open source cloud middlewares are OpenStack and CloudStack. This paper provides a comparative study of these two cloud middlewares regarding its implementation complexity, overall stability and performance comparison using Unixbench and Bonnie++ benchmarks. Experiment results show that OpenStack perform better in most scenarios in a single node environment. OpenStack exhibits better overall stability but at the cost of increased installation complexity.
Conceptual diversity, moderators, and theoretical issues in quantitative studies of cultural capital theory

Abstract The present study reviewed quantitative empirical studies examining the relationship between cultural capital and student achievement. Results showed that researchers had conceptualized and measured cultural capital in different ways. It is argued that the more holistic understanding of the construct beyond highbrow cultural consumption must be balanced against the threat to conceptual clarity. The review also showed that cultural capital effects on student achievement were not a singular phenomenon. Rather, they were moderated by student, family, school, and country-level sociocultural factors with significant theoretical implications. The nexus of relationships among cultural capital indicators, moderators, and student achievement, and the theoretical issues involved can be used to inform future research in the testing of a more complete theory of Bourdieu’s cultural capital theory. Video abstract Read the transcript Watch the video on Vimeo
Formation of a Tidal Dwarf Galaxy in the Interacting System Arp 245 (NGC 2992/93)

Among the various phenomena observed in interacting galaxies is the ejection due to tidal forces of stellar and gaseous material into the intergalactic medium and its subsequent rearranging which can lead to the formation of self-gravitating tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs). We investigate this process with a detailed multiwavelength study of the interacting system Arp 245 and a numerical model of the collision computed with a Tree-SPH code. Our observations consist of optical/near-infrared broadband imaging, Hα imaging, optical spectroscopy, H I VLA cartography and CO line mapping. The system, composed of the two spiral galaxies NGC 2992 and NGC 2993, is observed at an early stage of the interaction, about 100 Myr after perigalacticon, though at a time when tidal tails have already developed. The VLA observations disclose a third partner to the interaction: an edge-on, flat galaxy, FGC 0938, which looks strikingly undisturbed and might just be falling toward the NGC 2992/93 system. Our H I map shows prominent counterparts to the optical tails. Whereas the stellar and gaseous components of the plume that originates from NGC 2992 match, the stellar and H I tails emanating from NGC 2993 have a different morphology. In particular, the H I forms a ring, a feature that has been successfully reproduced by our numerical simulations. The H I emission in the system as a whole peaks at the tip of the NGC 2992 tail where a gas reservoir of about 109 M⊙, about 60% of the H I toward NGC 2992, coincides with a star-forming optical condensation, A245N. The latter tidal object exhibits properties ranging between those of dwarf irregular galaxies (structural parameters, gas content, star formation rate) and those of spiral disks (metallicity, star formation efficiency, stellar population). Although it is likely, based on our analysis of the H I and model data cube, that A245N might become an independent dwarf galaxy, the dynamical evidence is still open to debate. Prompted by the questions raised for this particular object, we discuss some issues related to the definition and identification of TDGs and highlight some specific conditions which seem required to form them. Finally, we outline what is needed in terms of future numerical simulations in order to further our understanding of these objects.
An Explanatory Mixed Method Study on Pre-Service Language Teachers’ Communication Apprehension Towards their Instructors

Promoting higher communication efficiency among teacher candidates and acting as models are among the main professional responsibilities of teacher educators. This makes the task of teachers even more important in language education classes where students are prospective language teachers and their development as language teachers highly depend on the way teacher educators teach and communicate (Wen & Clément, 2003). This sequential mixed-method study examined Communication Apprehension (CA) levels of a convenience sample of pre-service language teachers at a state university with an emphasis on the influence of gender, year level, and achievement on CA towards lecturers. Given that CA is a psychological experience, a self-reported questionnaire, Communication Apprehension with the Lecturers Scale (CALS), (Eren-Gümüş & Kolburan-Geçer, 2008) was used for measuring participants’ levels of CA with their instructors. In order to compare CA levels of students in each group, a cross-sectional survey design was selected (Creswell, 2002). Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, independent samples t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient. In addition to quantitative data analysis, the researcher purposefully elicited written comments of pre-service language teachers in order to gain deeper insights into the phenomenon. The data obtained through open-ended survey questions were subjected to qualitative content analysis. The findings indicate that communication should have a greater role in teacher education and teacher educators should refrain from exhibiting behaviors that can prevent prospective teachers from communicating with them.
Justifying Sexual Assault: Anonymous Perpetrators Speak Out Online

Objective: Researchers rarely have an opportunity to study first-person narratives of sexual assault perpetration. Because of a prompt anonymously posted to a popular online community, we were able to examine perpetrators’ own descriptions of, and justifications for, sexual assault. Method: Thematic analysis was conducted on a sample of 68 anonymous first-person accounts of sexual assault perpetration collected from Reddit.com. Results: Themes focus on sexual scripts, victim blame, hostile sexism, biological essentialism, objectification, and sociosexuality. Relationships among these themes are described. Conclusion: We contextualize our findings in the empirical literature on sexual assault and in earlier related feminist theory. Our goal is to use these novel data to further inform research and prevention efforts, making recommendations for policy and clinical efforts such as clinical intervention with perpetrators to decrease cognitive distortions of blame.
Semiglobal ISpS Disturbance Attenuation With Output Tracking via Direct Adaptive Design

Direct adaptive partial state feedback control is presented to achieve semiglobally input-to-state practically stable (ISpS) disturbance attenuation with output tracking for a class of uncertain time-varying nonlinear systems in which the unmeasured dynamics do not possess a constant disturbance attenuation level (CDAL). Identifying a necessary condition for the existence of a CDAL, direct adaptive neural networks (NNs) control is developed, where the universal approximation property of NNs and the domination design are employed together to overcome the difficulties due to the lack of state information, unknown system nonlinearities, and unknown state-dependent disturbance attenuation gain. The proposed method is coherent in the sense that it is applicable to the case in which a CDAL exists.
English in the linguistic landscape of Hong Kong : a case study of shop signs and linguistic competence

Especially for the last twenty years, the studies of Linguistic Landscapes (LLs) have been gaining the status as an autonomous linguistic discipline. The LL of a (mostly) geographically limited area – which consists of e.g. billboards, posters, shop signs, material for election campaigns, etc. – gives deep insights into the presence or absence of languages in that particular area. Thus, LL not only allows to conclude from the presence of a language to its dominance, but also from its absence to the oppression of minorities, above all in areas where minority languages should – demographically seen – be visible. The LLs of big cities are fruitful research areas due to the mass of linguistic data. The first part of this paper deals with the theoretical and practical research that has been conducted in LL studies so far. A summary of the theory, methodologies and different approaches is given. In the second part I apply the theoretical basis to my own case study. For this, the LLs of two shopping streets in different areas of Hong Kong were examined in 2010. It seems likely that the linguistic competence of English must be rather high in Hong Kong, due to the long-lasting influence of British culture and mentality and the official status of the language. The case study's results are based on empirical data showing the objectively visible presence of English in both examined areas, as well as on two surveys. Those were conducted both openly and anonymously. The surveys are a reinsurance measuring the level of linguistic competence of English in Hong Kong. That level was defined before by an analysis of the LL. Hence, this case study is a new approach to LL analysis which does not end with the description of its material composition (as have done most studies before), but which rather includes its creators by asking in what way people's actual linguistic competence is reflected in Hong Kong's LL.
On the Role of Self-compassion and Self-kindness in Weight Regulation and Health Behavior Change

The construct of self-compassion has been investigated in relation to health behaviors, health behavior change, and health outcomes such as regulated eating and weight loss. Self-compassion has been defined as a mindful awareness of oneself, which involves treating oneself kindly and understanding oneself during difficult and challenging times by realizing that such experiences are common amongst all humans (Neff, 2003a). Neff (2003a,b) described how self-compassion consists of three interrelated components: self-kindness (vs. self-judgment), common humanity (vs. isolation), and mindfulness (vs. over-identification). While the psychological benefits are well documented (e.g., Neff, 2011), the health behaviors and outcomes may require more consideration, and this opinion manuscript aims to shed light on potential problems in eating and weight issues. Initial findings of self-compassion in assisting regulated eating are promising, and are explored next.
Intellectual capital and performance in causal models: Evidence from the information technology industry in Taiwan

Purpose – This paper seeks to investigate the impact of intellectual capital elements on business performance, as well as the relationship among intellectual capital elements from a cause‐effect perspective.Design/methodology/approach – The partial least squares approach is used to examine the information technology (IT) industry in Taiwan.Findings – Results show that intellectual capital elements directly affect business performance, with the exception of human capital. Human capital indirectly affects performance through the other three elements: innovation capital, process capital, and customer capital. There also exists a cause‐effect relationship among four elements of intellectual capital. Human capital affects innovation capital and process capital. Innovation capital affects process capital, which in turn influences customer capital. Finally, customer capital contributes to performance. The cause‐effect relationship between leading elements and lagged elements provides implications for the managem.
Robust exponential binary pattern storage in Little-Hopfield networks

The Little-Hopfield network is an auto-associative computational model of neural memory storage and retrieval. This model is known to robustly store collections of randomly generated binary patterns as stable-states of the network dynamics. However, the number of binary memories so storable scales linearly in the number of neurons, and it has been a long-standing open problem whether robust exponential storage of binary patterns was possible in such a network memory model. In this note, we design simple families of Little-Hopfield networks that provably solve this problem affirmatively. As a byproduct, we produce a set of novel (nonlinear) binary codes with an efficient, highly parallelizable denoising mechanism.
Survey of Graph Clustering Algorithms Using Amazon Reviews

We built a graph clustering system to analyze the different resulting clustering from Amazon’s product reviews from the dataset on SNAP. There are over 53MB of reviews, but we started from the graph constructed from the Jewelry set containing 60,000 nodes. Our focus for this graph clustering was the clustering product to ascertain whether the clusters were characterized by individual traits. We evaluated using SNAP’s ClausetNewman-Moore, Spectral Clustering, and Normalized Min-cut Clustering based on betweenness centrality. Our initial results shed light on some promising developments that support our initial hypothesis that clustered products and reviewers have similar attributes.
Statistical Performance Modeling and Parametric Yield Estimation of MOS VLSI

A major cost in statistical analysis occurs in repeated system simulation as system parameters are varied. To reduce this cost, the system performances are approximated by regression models in terms of critical system parameters. These models are then used to predict the performance variations and parametric yield. This paper presents a systematic and computationally efficient method for deriving regression models of MOS VLSI circuit performances that can be used to estimate the parametric yield. This method consists of four fundamental steps: simulation point selection, model fitting and validation, model improvement, and parametric yield estimation. An average mean-squared error criterion is used to select an optimal set of points in the design space for circuit simulations, and the adequacy of the fitted regression model is checked rigorously. It will be shown through examples that accurate statistical performance models and parametric yield estimate for MOS VLSI can be derived by using four or five critical device parameters and a small number of circuit simulations.