Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A qualitative analysis of the impact of the reform of the College of Science undergraduate core curriculum at State University

Ballotti, D. , Ph.D., Purdue University, December 2014, A Qualitative Analysis of the Impact of the Reform of the College of Science Undergraduate Core Curriculum at State University. Major Professor: Gerald Krockover. The Dean of the College of Science at State University, a large public Midwestern research university, in a memo to the faculty and staff initiated what he called a “review” of the undergraduate science core curriculum. He formed a task force that was to investigate on three issues; a reassessment of the undergraduate core curriculum, the recruitment and retention of qualified undergraduate students with an emphasis on diversity, and strategies that would address these issues. The age of the curriculum, 40 years since the last significant change, was an important factor in the review of the curriculum. This qualitative study seeks to understand how a group of four administrators and five faculty, all from the College of Science, participated in the task force, perceived the old curriculum, and perceived the changes made and the resulting new curriculum. They were also asked to rank both the prior and new curricula. As part of an ongoing theme in higher education they were also asked if they thought the changes made to the curriculum qualified as reform and why or why not. This resulted in a discussion of what a reform might look like at State University and ultimately a definition
The evolution of substructure - I. A new identification method

We describe our new 'MLAPM halo finder' (MHF), which is based on the adaptive grid structure of the N-body code MLAPM. We then extend the MHF code in order to track the orbital evolution of gravitationally bound objects through any given cosmological N-body simulation -our so-called 'MLAPM halo tracker' (MHT). The mode of operation of MHT is demonstrated using a series of eight high-resolution N-body simulations of galaxy clusters. Each of these haloes hosts more than one million particles within their virial radii r vir . We use MHT as well as MHF to follow the temporal evolution of hundreds of individual satellites, and show that the radial distribution of these substructure satellites follows a 'universal' radial distribution irrespective of the environment and formation history of the host halo. This in fact might pose another problem for simulations of cold dark matter structure formation, as there are recent findings by Taylor, Silk & Babul that the Milky Way satellites are found preferentially closer to the Galactic Centre and simulations underestimate the amount of central substructure. Further, this universal substructure profile is anti-biased with respect to the underlying dark matter profile. The halo finder MHF will become part of the open source MLAPM distribution.
ESSAYS IN THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF VOTING AND REFORMS

This thesis presents four essays in the political economy of elections and reforms. The first study exploits discontinuities around school entry cut-off dates to show that early childhood conditions can impact the probability to become a top-flight politician. The second study provides empirical estimates of the effect of sequential voting on turnout and bandwagon voting outside the laboratory. The third work describes a novel nonparametric strategy to identify tactical voting patterns directly from balloting results using British election data. Finally, a study is put forward that examines the political feasibility of reforms.
A simple proof of the Poincaré inequality for a large class of probability measures

Abstract. We give a simple and direct proof of the existence of a spectral gap under some Lyapunov type condition which is satisfied in particular by log-concave probability measures on $\mathbb{R}^n$. The proof is based on arguments introduced in Bakry and al, but for the sake of completeness, all details are provided.
Modulation of anxiety by cortical serotonin 1A receptors

Serotonin (5-HT) plays an important role in the modulation of behavior across animal species. The serotonin 1A receptor (Htr1a) is an inhibitory G-protein coupled receptor that is expressed both on serotonin and non-serotonin neurons in mammals. Mice lacking Htr1a show increased anxiety behavior suggesting that its activation by serotonin has an anxiolytic effect. This outcome can be mediated by either Htr1a population present on serotonin (auto-receptor) or non-serotonin neurons (hetero-receptor), or both. In addition, both transgenic and pharmacological studies have shown that serotonin acts on Htr1a during development to modulate anxiety in adulthood, demonstrating a function for this receptor in the maturation of anxiety circuits in the brain. However, previous studies have been equivocal about which Htr1a population modulates anxiety behavior, with some studies showing a role of Htr1a hetero-receptor and others implicating the auto-receptor. In particular, cell-type specific rescue and suppression of Htr1a expression in either forebrain principal neurons or brainstem serotonin neurons reached opposite conclusions about the role of the two populations in the anxiety phenotype of the knockout. One interpretation of these apparently contradictory findings is that the modulating role of these two populations depends on each other. Here we use a novel Cre-dependent inducible allele of Htr1a in mice to show that expression of Htr1a in cortical principal neurons is sufficient to modulate anxiety. Together with previous findings, these results support a hetero/auto-receptor interaction model for Htr1a function in anxiety.
Dynamic Resistance Training as Stand‐Alone Antihypertensive Lifestyle Therapy: A Meta‐Analysis

Background Aerobic exercise (AE) is recommended as first‐line antihypertensive lifestyle therapy based on strong evidence showing that it lowers blood pressure (BP) 5 to 7 mm Hg among adults with hypertension. Because of weaker evidence showing that dynamic resistance training (RT) reduces BP 2 to 3 mm Hg among adults with hypertension, it is recommended as adjuvant lifestyle therapy to AE training. Yet, existing evidence suggests that dynamic RT can lower BP as much or more than AE. Methods and Results We meta‐analyzed 64 controlled studies (71 interventions) to determine the efficacy of dynamic RT as stand‐alone antihypertensive therapy. Participants (N=2344) were white (57%), middle‐aged (47.2±19.0 years), and overweight (26.8±3.4 kg/m2) adults with prehypertension (126.7±10.3/76.8±8.7 mm Hg); 15% were on antihypertensive medication. Overall, moderate‐intensity dynamic RT was performed 2.8±0.6 days/week for 14.4±7.9 weeks and elicited small‐to‐moderate reductions in systolic BP (SBP; d+=−0.31; 95% CIs, −0.43, −0.19; −3.0 mm Hg) and diastolic BP (DBP; d+=−0.30; 95% CIs, −0.38, −0.18; −2.1 mm Hg) compared to controls (Ps<0.001). Greater BP reductions occurred among samples with higher resting SBP/DBP: ≈6/5 mm Hg for hypertension, ≈3/3 mm Hg for prehypertension, and ≈0/1 mm Hg for normal BP (Ps<0.023). Furthermore, nonwhite samples with hypertension experienced BP reductions that were approximately twice the magnitude of those previously reported following AE training (−14.3 mm Hg [95% CIs, −19.0, −9.4]/−10.3 mm Hg [95% CIs, −14.5, −6.2]). Conclusions Our results indicate that for nonwhite adult samples with hypertension, dynamic RT may elicit BP reductions that are comparable to or greater than those reportedly achieved with AE training. Dynamic RT should be further investigated as a viable stand‐alone therapeutic exercise option for adult populations with high BP.
Response of saline water irrigated greengram (Vigna radiata) to land configuration, fertilizers and farm yard manure in Tapi command area of south Gujarat

A field experiment was conducted during 2008-09 and 2009-10 post-rainy seasons at Navsari, Gujarat to evaluate the effects of land configuration, fertilizers and farm yard manure (FYM) application on productivity, water use efficiency, nutrient uptake, soil fertility status and the economics of green gram ( Vigna radiata L.) cultivation. The raised bed method of planting was found superior as was evident from significant increase in growth and yield attributes, grain (0.93 t/ha) and stover yield (2.27 t/ha), irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE), nitrogen (N), phos- phorus (P) and potassium (K) uptake, net returns ( 37.6 103/ha) and B:C ratio (3.9) and decrease in plant mor- tality percent. Application of 100% recommended dose of nitrogen (20 kg/ha) and phosphorus (40 kg P O /ha) re- 2 5 corded significantly higher growth and yield attributes, grain and stover yield, IWUE, NPK uptake, available NPK in the soil, net returns and B:C ratio over the application of 75% of recommended dose of N and P. Similarly, the application of FYM at 5t/ha recorded statistically higher growth and yield attributes, grain and stover yield, IWUE, NPK uptake, available NPK in the soil after harvest, net returns and B:C ratio and decrease in plant mortality per- cent over no FYM application.
A role for DNA methylation in gastrulation and somite patterning.

DNA methylation constitutes an important epigenetic factor in the control of genetic information. In this study, we analyzed expression of the DNA methyltransferase gene and examined DNA methylation patterns during early development of the zebrafish. Maternal transcripts of the zebrafish DNA methyltransferase gene (MTase) are ubiquitously present at high levels in early embryos with overall levels decreasing after the blastula stage. At 24 h, methyltransferase mRNA is predominantly found in the brain, neural tube, eyes, and differentiating somites. Expression of MTase in the somites is highest in the anterior cells of the somites. Despite the high levels of MTase mRNA in blastula-stage embryos, we observe DNA hypomethylation at the blastula and gastrula stages compared to sperm or older embryos. Zebrafish embryos treated with 5-azacytidine (5-azaC) and 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine (5-azadC), nucleotide analogs known to induce cellular differentiation and DNA hypomethylation in mammalian cells, exhibit DNA hypomethylation and developmental perturbations. These defects are specifically observed in embryos treated at the beginning of the blastula period, just prior to midblastula transition. The most common phenotype is the loss of tail and abnormal patterning of somites. Head development is also affected in some embryos. Histological and in situ hybridization analyses reveal whole or partial loss of a differentiated notochord and midline muscle in treated embryos. When examined during gastrulation, 5-azaC-treated embryos have a shortened and thickened axial mesoderm. We propose that DNA methylation is required for normal gastrulation and subsequent patterning of the dorsal mesoderm.
What people study when they study Twitter: classifying Twitter related academic papers

Classifying Twitter related academic papers Structured Abstract Purpose Since its introduction in 2006, messages posted to the microblogging system Twitter have provided a rich dataset for researchers, leading to the publication of over a thousand academic papers. This paper aims to identify this published work and to classify it in order to understand Twitter based research. Design/methodology/approach Firstly the papers on Twitter were identified. Secondly, following a review of the literature, a classification of the dimensions of microblogging research was established. Thirdly, papers were qualitatively classified using open coded content analysis, based on the paper’s title and abstract, in order to analyze method, subject, and approach.
A common cofilin activity cycle in invasive tumor cells and inflammatory cells

In many cell types, the formation of membrane protrusions and directional migration depend on the spatial and temporal regulation of the actin-binding protein cofilin. Cofilin, which is important for the regulation of actin-polymerization initiation, increases the number of actin free barbed ends through three mechanisms: its intrinsic actin-nucleation activity; binding and severing of existing actin filaments; and recycling actin monomers from old filaments to new ones through its actin-depolymerization activity. The increase in free barbed ends that is caused by cofilin initiates new actin polymerization, which can be amplified by the actin-nucleating ARP2/3 complex. Interestingly, different cell systems seem to have different mechanisms of activating cofilin. The initial activation of cofilin in mammary breast tumors is dependent on PLCγ, whereas cofilin activation in neutrophils is additionally dependent on dephosphorylation, which is promoted through Rac2 signaling. Although the literature seems to be confusing and inconsistent, we propose that all of the data can be explained by a single activity-cycle model. In this Opinion, we give an overview of cofilin activation in both tumor cells and inflammatory cells, and demonstrate how the differences in cofilin activation that are observed in various cell types can be explained by different starting points in this single common activity cycle.
Changes in the effect of propofol in response to altered plasma protein binding during normothermic cardiopulmonary bypass.

BACKGROUND During normothermic cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), the effect on propofol pharmacokinetics of changes in its binding to plasma proteins is consistent with the predictions of the well-stirred model of hepatic elimination for nonrestrictively cleared drug. However, whether changes in binding lead to clinically significant changes in the drug effect remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to assess changes in the drug effect of propofol in response to altered plasma binding using quantitative EEG measurements. METHODS Thirty patients undergoing cardiac surgery were assigned randomly to receive propofol infusions at 4 (Group P-4) or 6 (Group P-6) mg kg(-1) h(-1) during surgery. The concentration of propofol in blood samples, collected from the radial artery at predetermined intervals, was determined by HPLC. The unbound fraction of drug in plasma was estimated using equilibrium dialysis. Bispectral index (BIS) and burst suppression ratio (BSR) were measured at the time blood samples were collected. RESULTS The total concentration of propofol in blood was unchanged during CPB relative to the pre-CPB value in both groups. However, the fraction of unbound propofol in blood increased by 2-fold during CPB. While BIS values were unchanged during CPB in Group P-4, there was a slight, but significant, decrease in Group P-6. In both groups, BSR significantly increased during CPB. BIS values showed a weak correlation with the concentration of unbound propofol (r(2)=0.19, P<0.001). BSR showed a moderate correlation with the concentration of unbound propofol (r(2)=0.56, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The anaesthetic effect of propofol significantly increased during CPB without any alteration in the total drug concentration. The enhanced efficacy may be caused by a reduction in plasma binding of the drug.
A Matching Model with Endogenous Skill Requirements

In this paper, we consider a labor market in which workers differ in their abilities and jobs differ in their skill requirements. We take the distribution of worker abilities as given (a fraction p of the workers is low-skill, a fraction 1-p is high-skill), but we model the determination of skill requirements by firms. High-skill jobs produce more output than low-skill jobs; however, high-skill jobs require high-skill workers and thus are more difficult to fill. We use a matching model together with a Nash bargaining approach to wage setting to determine the equilibrium mix of job types, along with the equilibrium relationship between worker/job characteristics and wages. We derive implications for the distributions of unemployment durations across workers and of vacancy durations across jobs. We use this model to examine the comparative static effects of a relative increase in the productivity of high-skill jobs (interpreted as "skill-biased technical change") and of changes in the mix of worker types in the labor force. Specifically, we examine how these changes affect aggregate unemployment and wage inequality via their effects on the equilibrium distribution of skill requirements. We also examine the effects of policy interventions such as unemployment compensation on the equilibrium.
Temporal reliability test of nonconsumptive wildlife recreation benefits constructed from choke price data

Choke price data from the 2001 and 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation (FHWAR) is used to construct welfare measures for wildlife-watching trips. Findings from an Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition analysis showed them to be temporally reliable which favors transferability across time.
Outage performance of cooperative amplify-and-forward OFDM systems with nonlinear power amplifiers

Cooperative diversity and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) are two key technologies for future wireless communication systems. One of the main problems of OFDM systems is the high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of the transmitted signals, which may cause the introduction of intercarrier interference due to the presence of nonlinear power amplifiers (PAs). In this paper, a theoretical analysis of the outage probability of an amplify-and-forward (AF) cooperative diversity OFDM system accounting for nonlinear distortions introduced by a nonlinear PA is developed. It is assumed a frequency-selective Rayleigh fading and a downlink transmission, with the base station having a linear PA and the relay having a nonlinear PA. Our analysis shows how the PA parameters affects the outage probability for different SNR levels. The validity of the proposed outage analysis is verified by means of computer simulations.
An Exact Double-Oracle Algorithm for Zero-Sum Extensive-Form Games with Imperfect Information

Developing scalable solution algorithms is one of the central problems in computational game theory. We present an iterative algorithm for computing an exact Nash equilibrium for two-player zero-sum extensive-form games with imperfect information. Our approach combines two key elements: (1) the compact sequence-form representation of extensive- form games and (2) the algorithmic framework of double-oracle methods. The main idea of our algorithm is to restrict the game by allowing the players to play only selected sequences of available actions. After solving the restricted game, new sequences are added by finding best responses to the current solution using fast algorithms. We experimentally evaluate our algorithm on a set of games inspired by patrolling scenarios, board, and card games. The results show significant runtime improvements in games admitting an equilibrium with small support, and substantial improvement in memory use even on games with large support. The improvement in memory use is particularly important because it allows our algorithm to solve much larger game instances than existing linear programming methods. Our main contributions include (1) a generic sequence-form double-oracle algorithm for solving zero-sum extensive-form games; (2) fast methods for maintaining a valid restricted game model when adding new sequences; (3) a search algorithm and pruning methods for computing best-response sequences; (4) theoretical guarantees about the convergence of the algorithm to a Nash equilibrium; (5) experimental analysis of our algorithm on several games, including an approximate version of the algorithm.
High‐fat diet‐induced hypertension and autonomic imbalance are associated with an upregulation of CART in the dorsomedial hypothalamus of mice

We evaluated herein whether diet‐induced obesity alters sympathovagal balance, blood pressure, and neuropeptides levels at the hypothalamus and brainstem of mice. Male C57BL6J mice fed with a high‐fat (HFD) or a high‐fat high‐sucrose (HFHSu), or a regular chow diet (C) for 8 weeks were evaluated for metabolic parameters and blood pressure, the latter being performed in conscious freely moving mice. Spectral analysis from the records of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and cardiac pulse intervals (PI) was performed to analyse the autonomic balance in the cardiovascular system. HFD‐fed mice developed two distinct hemodynamic phenotypes: hypertensive mice (HFD‐H) with high systolic and diastolic BP levels and hypertension‐resistant mice (HFD‐R) whose BP levels were similar to C group. Spectral analysis of SBP and PI variabilities indicate that the low‐frequency (LF)/high‐frequency (HF) ratio, which is an index of sympathovagal balance, is higher in HFD‐H compared to HFD‐R. Along with hypertension and higher LF/HF ratio, HFD‐H mice presented increased hypothalamic mRNA levels of cocaine‐ and amphetamine‐regulated transcript (CART), and increased CART‐positive neurones in the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH) by high‐fat diet when compared to C group. Despite developing obesity to similar levels than HFD feeding, intake of a HFHSu was not associated with hypertension in mice neither CART levels increase. Collectively, our main findings indicate that high‐fat diet induced‐hypertension and autonomic imbalance are associated to an upregulation of CART levels in the DMH of mice.
Efficient Call Admission Control for MPEG-4 Wireless Videoconference Traffic

User mobility, combined with the rapidly growing number of multimedia applications, form a challenging and yet unresolved problem for the development of call admission control schemes over next generation wireless cellular networks. In this work we propose a new efficient CAC scheme for MPEG-4 videoconference traffic over cellular networks, which uses precomputed traffic scenarios for its decision-making. Our scheme is shown, via an extensive simulation study, to clearly excel in comparison with well-known existing approaches, in terms of quality of service (QoS) provisioning to users receiving videoconference traffic.
From Yugoslavia to the Western Balkans: Studies of a European Disunion, 1991-2011

Acknowledgments Introduction PART I: UNSTAKING VAMPIRES: DESTROYING THE YUGOSLAV NATION AND STATE Chapter One The Use of National Stereotypes in the Wars in Yugoslavia Chapter Two Recounting the Dead: The Rediscovery and Redefinition of Wartime Massacres in Late- and Post-Communist Yugoslavia Chapter Three The Partition of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1990-1993 Chapter Four Muslims as 'Others' in Serbian and Croatian Political Discourse Chapter Five Imagined Communities and Real Victims: Self-Determination and Ethnic Cleansing in Yugoslavia PART II: THE POWER OF LABELING: DISCOURSES ON GENOCIDE, ETHNIC CLEANSING & POPULATION TRANSFERS Chapter Six Schindler's Fate: Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing and Population Transfers Chapter Seven Mass Killings and Images of Genocide in Bosnia, 1941-45 and 1992-95 Chapter Eight Mass Rape and Rape Avoidance in Ethno-national Conflicts: Sexual Violence in Liminalized States PART III: HUMANITARIAN HYPOCRISY Chapter Nine Human Rights Activists and the Civil War In Yugoslavia: The Questionable Morality of Liberal Absolutism Chapter Ten Humanrightsism: From Moral Critique Of Violence to Crusade For Moral Violence Chapter Eleven 'Genocide Denial' Laws as Secular Heresy: A Critical Analysis with Reference to Bosnia Chapter Twelve What's Reconciliation Got to do With It? The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) as Antiwar Profiteer PART IV: UN-IMAGINING COMMUNITIES Chapter Thirteen Democracy without a Demos? The Bosnian Constitutional Experiment Chapter Fourteen The Proposed 2009 Amendments on the Bosnian Constitution and the Continuing Reinvention of the Square Wheel Chapter Fifteen Moral Vision and Impaired Insight: The Imagining of Other Peoples' Communities in Bosnia CODA: REBUILDING THE BALKANS Chapter Sixteen From EUphoria to EU-goslavia