Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Fast Direct Solver for Structured Linear Systems by Recursive Skeletonization

We present a fast direct solver for structured linear systems based on multilevel matrix compression. Using the recently developed interpolative decomposition of a low-rank matrix in a recursive manner, we embed an approximation of the original matrix into a larger but highly structured sparse one that allows fast factorization and application of the inverse. The algorithm extends the Martinsson--Rokhlin method developed for 2D boundary integral equations and proceeds in two phases: a precomputation phase, consisting of matrix compression and factorization, followed by a solution phase to apply the matrix inverse. For boundary integral equations which are not too oscillatory, e.g., based on the Green functions for the Laplace or low-frequency Helmholtz equations, both phases typically have complexity $\mathcal{O} (N)$ in two dimensions, where $N$ is the number of discretization points. In our current implementation, the corresponding costs in three dimensions are $\mathcal{O} (N^{3/2})$ and $\mathcal{O} (.
Application of Non-invasive Microsensing System to Simultaneously Measure Both H+ and O2 Fluxes Around the Pollen Tube

Various ionic and molecular activities in the extracellular environment are vital to plant cell physiological processes. A noninvasive microsensing system (NMS) based on either the scanning ion-selective electrode technique (SIET) or the scanning polarographic electrode technique (SPET) is able to obtain information regarding the transportation of various ions/molecules in intact samples under normal physiological conditions. The two-probe simultaneous test system (2STS) is an integrated system composed of SIET, SPET, and a Xu-Kunkel sampling protocol. In the present study, 2STS was able to simultaneously measure fluxes of H+ and O2 of the lily (Lilium longiflorum Thunb. cv. Ace) pollen tube while avoiding interference between the two probes. The results indicate that the proton fluxes were effluxes, whereas the oxygen fluxes were influxes, and they were closely correlated to each other surrounding the constitutive alkaline band region. Specifically, when the proton effluxes increased, the oxygen influxes also increased. Therefore, the hypothesis of condensed active mitochondria existing in the alkalized area of the pollen tube proposed by Hepler's group is supported. (Managing editor: Wei Wang)
Social Institutions, Violence, and Innovations: Did the Old Poor Law Matter?

Social institutions impact growth by redistributing resources to the young, the poor, the old, and the sick. This paper empirically substantiates that England’s premodern social institutions–specifically, the Old Poor Law (1601-1834)–contributed to her transition to the modern economy. It reduced violent, innovation-inhibiting reactions from the economic agents threatened by economic change. This conclusion is based on an analysis of a panel of poor relief and social unrest data from 39 English counties over the period between 1650 and 1830. Variations in the amount of poor relief came to bear negatively and statistically significantly on the incidence of food riots. Moreover, food riots came to bear negatively on innovations, while the latter were positively and significantly related to poor relief prior to and during the First Industrial Revolution. The analysis complements the finding that England’s and China’s distinct social institutions influenced their trajectories of technological changes and social disorder (Greif, Iyigun, and Sasson, 2011, 2012). Social institutions have had multiple and changing roles in economic growth, while inter-societal cultural distinctions and intra-societal cultural dynamics have led to distinct social and cultural institutions. ∗Greif: Stanford University. Iyigun: University of Colorado. Corresponding author: avner@stanford.edu. This paper benefitted from comments by Ran Abramitzky, Paul David, Gavin Wright and participants in seminars at Stanford, Berkeley, University of Colorado, Universidad Torcuato di Tella, and the 2011 IEA Meetings in Beijing. Avner Greif thanks the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) for support.
Modeling word durations

We describe a new method of modeling duration at word level. These duration models are easily trained from the acoustic training data and can be used to rescore N−best lists of recognition hypotheses. The models capture some of the well known durational effects such as prepausal lengthening. They incorporate a simple back off mechanism to handle unseen words during rescoring. Experiments with various large vocabulary conversational speech recognition (LVCSR) evaluation sets showed consistent improvements of 0.7−1.0% in word error rate (WER).
Is RateMyProfessors.com Unbiased? A Look at the Impact of Social Modelling on Student Online Reviews of Marketing Classes

This article looks at how marketing student ratings of instructors and classes on online rating sites such as RateMyProfessor.com can be biased by prior student ratings of that class. Research has identified potential sources of bias of online student reviews administered by universities. Less has been done on the sources of bias inherent in a ratings site where those doing the rating can see prior ratings. To measure how student online ratings of a course can be influenced by existing online ratings, the study used five different prior ratings experiment conditions: mildly negative prior ratings, strongly negative prior ratings, mildly positive prior ratings, strongly positive prior ratings, and a control condition of no prior ratings. Results of this study suggest prior online ratings, both positive and negative, do affect subsequent online ratings and bias them. There are several implications. First, both negative and positive ratings can have an impact biasing subsequent ratings. Second, sometimes negative prior ratings must be strong in valence in order to bias subsequent ratings whereas even mildly positive ratings can have an impact. Last, this bias can potentially influence student course selection.
Understanding the experiences of people with Acquired Brain Injury and their interactions with outside services

Previous research has focused on Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) regarding the cognitive, behavioural, psychological and social effects, and the outcomes and implications this has had in different areas of people’s lives. However, there has been limited research exploring the existing relationship between individuals with ABI and community service providers. Therefore, the current study’s objective was to understand the experiences that those with ABI have had of community services and to recognise the extent to which they believed that these services understand their difficulties and needs. An interpretative phenomenological approach was used to allow the participants to reflect on the areas in which they believed were most important to their subjective experiences as a person with ABI, family member related to someone with ABI, or as a professional who had interacted with people with ABI in their role. Eight participants were recruited (two professionals, two individuals with ABI and four family members of individuals with ABI) and took part in semi-structured interviews. Five super-ordinate themes were identified following analysis of the transcripts 1) Hidden disabilities, 2) Knowledge and understanding, 3) Impact of ABI, 4) Access to services, and 5) Safeguarding. Several sub-themes within each superordinate theme were also identified. The findings from the study were consistent with previous research literature, and identified areas that could be improved.
An exploratory analysis of argumentativeness in Kyrgyzstan

ABSTRACT More than three decades of research on argumentativeness demonstrates that different cultures value differently this aspect of communication. Studies have evaluated levels of argumentativeness in numerous national cultures. This is the first study to explore levels of argumentativeness in Kyrgyzstan. Along with exploring the position of Kyrgyzstan on the argumentativeness continuum, this study also explores the validity and reliability of the Argumentativeness Scale in Kyrgyzstan. Results from 100 Kyrgyzstanis reveal that Kyrgyzstan scores relatively low on the argumentativeness continuum compared to argumentativeness scores from studies conducted in neighboring Asian countries. Furthermore, the sample produced a reliable and valid measure of argumentativeness in Kyrgyzstan.
Overshoots in stress-strain curves : Colloid experiments and schematic mode coupling theory

The stress vs strain curves in dense colloidal dispersions under start-up shear flow are investigated combining experiments on model core-shell microgels, computer simulations of hard disk mixtures, and mode coupling theory. In dense fluid and glassy states, the transient stresses exhibit first a linear increase with the accumulated strain, then a maximum (stress overshoot) for strain values around 5%, before finally approaching the stationary value, which makes up the flow curve. These phenomena arise in well-equilibrated systems and for homogeneous flows, indicating that they are generic phenomena of the shear-driven transient structural relaxation. Microscopic mode coupling theory (generalized to flowing states by integration through the transients) derives them from the transient stress correlations, which first exhibit a plateau (corresponding to the solid-like elastic shear modulus) at intermediate times, and then negative stress correlations during the final decay. We introduce and validate a schem.
Somatostatin protects photoreceptor cells against high glucose – induced apoptosis

cally from an estimated 382 million people in 2013 to 592 million by 2030. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most frequent complications of diabetes and the leading cause of blindness among working-age individuals [1]. In the past, DR was recognized solely as a vascular disease; however, a large number of cellular and molecular preclinical studies and retinal function tests in patients with DR have shown that retinal neurodegeneration (diabetic retinal neuropathy) is an early event in the pathogenesis of DR that predates and participates in diabetic retinal vasculopathy [2,3].
PENGARUH MOTIVASI TERHADAP MINAT MAHASISWA AKUNTANSI UNTUK MENGIKUTI PENDIDIKAN PROFESI AKUNTANSI (PPAk) DI PERGURUAN TINGGI SUMATERA UTARA

The objective of this study is to analyze the effect of motivation on student interest in accounting to follow an Accounting Profession Education . This study population is a student majoring in Accounting S1 semester 7 which is still active in the College of North Sumatra. T he total study sample amounted to 225 sample from four Universities, namely USU, UNIMED, UDA, and UNIKA. The variables used are quality motivation, career motivation, and economic motivation as an independent variables, and the interest of students to follow an Accounting Profession Education as the dependent variables. The research data obtained by using a questionnaire and then analyzed with multiple regression analysis method. Simultant (F-test) and Partial testing (T-Test) have been used to hypothesis testing. The result of this research shows that quality motivation, career motivation, and economic motivation simultaneously influence toward accounting students proclivity to follow an Accounting Profession Education. The partially quality economic not significant influence toward accounting students proclivity to follow an Accounting Profession Education, but quality motivation and career motivation influence toward accounting students proclivity to follow an Accounting Profession Education.
An epidemiological study of RSV infection in the Gambia.

OBJECTIVE To describe the epidemiology of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in a developing country. METHODS The work was carried out in three hospitals for primary cases and in the community for secondary cases in the western region of the Gambia, West Africa. RSV infection was diagnosed by immunofluorescence of nasopharyngeal aspirate samples in children younger than two years admitted to hospital with acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI). Routine records of all children with ALRI were analysed, and the incidence rates of ALRI, severe RSV-associated respiratory illness and hypoxaemic RSV infections were compared. A community-based study was undertaken to identify secondary cases and to obtain information about spread of the virus. FINDINGS 4799 children with ALRI who were younger than two years and lived in the study area were admitted to the study hospitals: 421 had severe RSV-associated respiratory illness; 55 of these were hypoxaemic. Between 1994 and 1996, the observed incidence rate for ALRI in 100 children younger than one year living close to hospital was 9.6 cases per year; for severe RSV-associated respiratory illness 0.83; and for hypoxaemic RSV-associated respiratory illness 0.089. The proportion of all ALRI admissions due to RSV was 19%. Overall, 41% of children younger than five years in compounds in which cases lived and 42% in control compounds had evidence of RSV infection during the surveillance period. CONCLUSION RSV is an important cause of ALRI leading to hospital admission in the Gambia. Morbidity is considerable and efforts at prevention are worthwhile.
A comprehensive manually curated protein–protein interaction database for the Death Domain superfamily

The Death Domain (DD) superfamily, which is one of the largest classes of protein interaction modules, plays a pivotal role in apoptosis, inflammation, necrosis and immune cell signaling pathways. Because aberrant or inappropriate DD superfamily-mediated signaling events are associated with various human diseases, such as cancers, neurodegenerative diseases and immunological disorders, the studies in these fields are of great biological and clinical importance. To facilitate the understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which the DD superfamily is associated with biological and disease processes, we have developed the DD database (http://www.deathdomain.org), a manually curated database that aims to offer comprehensive information on protein–protein interactions (PPIs) of the DD superfamily. The DD database was created by manually curating 295 peer-reviewed studies that were published in the literature; the current version documents 175 PPI pairs among the 99 DD superfamily proteins. The DD database provides a detailed summary of the DD superfamily proteins and their PPI data. Users can find in-depth information that is specified in the literature on relevant analytical methods, experimental resources and domain structures. Our database provides a definitive and valuable tool that assists researchers in understanding the signaling network that is mediated by the DD superfamily.
Do Law Enforcement Expenditures Crowd-Out Public Education Expenditures?

As state and local governments have devoted a rising share of their resources to crime-related programmes, concerns have arisen that spending on other programmes such as education will fall. Coupled with growing public concerns over performance of the public education system, and expectations that prison populations will rise as states pass and enforce more stringent sentencing laws, it is not surprising that some view the expansion of crime-related programmes as troublesome. One hypothesis is that education and crime-related programmes directly compete for government expenditures so that what one programme gains the other must lose as in a fixed-pie situation. A competing hypothesis is that spending on these two public programmes are unrelated and therefore higher crime-related spending may also lead to higher taxes or public debt issuance, or to reduction in spending on programmes other than education. We estimate a three equation model of spending on crime-related programmes, spending on education, and the crime rate from which we directly test whether spending on crime and education influence each other.
Predicting hotel book intention: The influential role of helpfulness and advocacy of online reviews

ABSTRACT This article empirically examines and validates a research framework that gives key insights into the influential role played by salient characteristics of online reviews, namely helpfulness (how helpful a review is) and advocacy (whether the review explicitly approves or rejects the brand), on consumers’ attitude toward the review and the hotel about which the review is written. The subsequent effects of these attitudinal reactions are then examined on hotel booking intention in the presence of destination specific emotion as a moderator. Data collected from a sample of 362 individuals are analyzed using ANOVA and linear regression. Results reveal that review helpfulness and review advocacy have differential effects on consumers’ attitude toward the review and brand. Also, attitude toward the review positively affects brand attitude which subsequently affects consumers’ intention to book a hotel. Finally, destination emotion is found to affect the relationship between brand attitude and hotel booking intention positively.
Impact of Different Social Models on Young Adults' Views of Marriage and Divorce

In this study we examined the potential influence of multiple relationship models on young adults’ attitudes regarding marriage and divorce. College students (n = 110; 62% women, mean age = 19.1) completed measures of marriage and divorce attitudes and described conflict and happiness of 3 couples (parents, positive marriage model, and negative marriage model). Parent and positive model characteristics were significantly correlated with marriage attitudes such that respondents describing parental and positive models that were low on conflict and high on happiness reported more positive marriage attitudes. In multiple regression analyses, only positive model happiness predicted marriage attitudes; no variables predicted divorce attitudes. Findings suggest the potential role of nonparental models in shaping young adults’ attitudes toward marriage and divorce. ANGELA D. NICKELL
Single-molecule derivation of salt dependent base-pair free energies in DNA

Accurate knowledge of the thermodynamic properties of nucleic acids is crucial to predicting their structure and stability. To date most measurements of base-pair free energies in DNA are obtained in thermal denaturation experiments, which depend on several assumptions. Here we report measurements of the DNA base-pair free energies based on a simplified system, the mechanical unzipping of single DNA molecules. By combining experimental data with a physical model and an optimization algorithm for analysis, we measure the 10 unique nearest-neighbor base-pair free energies with 0.1 kcal mol-1 precision over two orders of magnitude of monovalent salt concentration. We find an improved set of standard energy values compared with Unified Oligonucleotide energies and a unique set of 10 base-pair-specific salt-correction values. The latter are found to be strongest for AA/TT and weakest for CC/GG. Our unique energy values and salt corrections improve predictions of DNA unzipping forces and are fully compatible with melting temperatures for oligos. The method should make it possible to obtain free energies, enthalpies, and entropies in conditions not accessible by bulk methodologies.
Corporate Governance, Regulatory Compliance and Insider Trading

This paper investigates the role of corporate governance on regulatory compliance and the performance of Italian corporate insider trading. Exploiting a unique enforcement and reporting framework, we present three main findings. First, corporate governance does not influence the propensity of firms to comply with insider trading regulation. Firms that have concentrated ownership and control, together with those run by families and cooperatives are most likely to comply with regulation. Second, multiple trading, but not transaction size, affects the performance of corporate insider trading. Third, the market responds less to reporting by compliant and family firms.
Force Analysis of Connected Differential Mechanisms: Application to Grasping

In this paper, a methodology is proposed for the analysis of the force capabilities of connected differential mechanisms. These systems are the key elements used to extend the principle of underactuation in grasping from the fingers to the hand itself. The concept of under-actuation in robotic grasping—with fewer actuators than degrees of freedom (DOF)—allows the hand to adjust itself to an irregularly shaped object without complex control strategies and sensors. Several technological solutions have been proposed in the past but no theoretical background has been provided to analyze their characteristics, especially with respect to the forces generated. The purpose of this paper is to provide such a theoretical foundation and to illustrate its usefulness with examples applied to grasping. First, several differential elements are presented and studied. Second, a mathematical method to obtain the output force capabilities of connected differential mechanisms is presented. Finally, the technique presented is applied to two types of underactuated robotic hands.
Antiurolithiatic activity of Pinus eldarica medw: fruits aqueous extract in rats.

PURPOSE To evaluate the antiurolithiatic activity of Pinus eldarica fruit on induced calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis in rats was induced by administering ethylene glycol 1% for 30 days via drinking water. The prophylactic and therapeutic groups received P. eldarica fruit extract (500 and 1000 mg/kg/day) as well for 30 days and from the 14th day through the end of the experiment, respectively. The following variables were assessed; urine volume, urinary calcium excretion, and crystalluria. Finally, rats' kidneys were histopathologically examined. RESULTS The aqueous extract prophylactic treatment (500 mg/kg/day) increased urinary calcium excretion. Qualitative analysis of crystalluria and histopathologic examination showed that the administered dose of extract prevented stone formation in the kidneys significantly. The prophylactic treatment did not increase urine volume in comparison with ethylene glycol. Stone formation did not decrease in the treatment group. CONCLUSION This study indicates that P. eldarica fruit extract prevents calcium oxalate deposition, without producing diuresis.
Listening to the affected: Student views after starting a 4th year module in Data Warehousing

The development of a successful module in data warehousing for 4th year IT students requires involvement of various stakeholders. Critical systems thinking and especially critical systems heuristics promote the involvement of those affected by an intervention, in the design of the intervention. In the development of a data warehousing module the students, who selected the module as part of their 4th year programme, are viewed as "affected" by the design of the module. This paper reports from a critical systems heuristics point of view, on the perspectives of these students who selected the module. Interpretive data collection by means of written interviews were done. Data were analysed using content analysis. Critical systems heuristics differs from other critical systems methodologies in terms of the requirements of rational argumentation. This paper provides examples of polemical argumentation and how these non-rational arguments are the voices we as faculty members (course designers) should hear. The paper concludes with aspects to take into consideration for the development and instruction of data warehousing based on the views of students after they have selected the module.