Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiple solutions for asteroid orbits: Computational procedure and applications

We describe the Multiple Solutions Method, a one-dimensional sampling of the six-dimensional orbital confidence region that is widely applicable in the field of asteroid orbit determination. In many situations there is one predominant direction of uncertainty in an orbit determination or orbital prediction, i.e., a "weak" direction. The idea is to record Multiple Solutions by following this, typically curved, weak direction, or Line Of Variations (LOV). In this paper we describe the method and give new insights into the mathematics behind this tool. We pay particular attention to the problem of how to ensure that the coordinate systems are properly scaled so that the weak direction really reflects the intrinsic direction of greatest uncertainty. We also describe how the multiple solutions can be used even in the absence of a nominal orbit solution, which substantially broadens the realm of applications. There are numerous applications for multiple solutions; we discuss a few problems in asteroid orbit determination and prediction where we have had good success with the method. In particular, we show that multiple solutions can be used effectively for potential impact monitoring, preliminary orbit determination, asteroid identification, and for the recovery of lost asteroids.
Exploring evolutionary stability in a concurrent artificial chemistry

Multi-level selection has proven to be an affective mean to provide resistance against parasites for catalytic networks (Cronhjort and Blomberg, 1997). One way to implement these multi-level systems is to group molecules into several distinct compartments (cells) which are capable of cellular division (where an offspring cell replaces another cell). In such systems parasitized cells decay and are ultimately displaced by neighboring healthy cells. However in relatively small cellular populations, it is also possible that infected cells may rapidly spread parasites throughout the entire cellular population. In which case, group selection may fail to provide resistance to parasites. In this paper, we propose a concurrent artificial chemistry (AC) which has been implemented on a cluster of computers where each cell is running on a single CPU. This multi-level selectional artificial chemistry called the Molecular Classifier Systems was based on the Holland broadcast language. An attribute inherent to such a concurrent system is that the computational complexity of the molecular species contained in a reactor may now affect the fitness of the cell. This molecular computational cost may be regarded as the chemical activation energy necessary for a reaction to occur. Such a property is often not considered in typical Artificial Life models. Our experimental results obtained with this system suggest that this activation energy property may improve the resistance to parasites for catalytic networks. This work highlights some of the benefits that could be obtained using a concurrent architecture on top of computational efficiency. We first briefly present the Molecular Classifier Systems, this is then followed by a description of the multi-level concurrent model. Finally we discuss the benefits of using this multi-level concurrent model to enhance evolutionary stability for catalytic networks in our AC.
Azimuthal Scattering from Elliptical Hair Fibers

The appearance of hair follows from the small-scale geometry of hair fibers, with the cross-sectional shape determining the azimuthal distribution of scattered light. Although previous research has described some of the effects of non-circular cross sections, no accurate scattering models for non-circular fibers exist. This article presents a scattering model for elliptical fibers, which predicts that even small deviations from circularity produce important changes in the scattering distribution and which disagrees with previous approximations for the effects of eccentricity. To confirm the model’s predictions, new scattering measurements of fibers from a wide range of hair types were made, using a new measurement device that provides a more complete and detailed picture of the light scattered by fibers than was previously possible. The measurements show features that conclusively match the model’s predictions, but they also contain an ideal-specular forward-scattering behavior that is not predicted and has not been fully described before. The results of this article indicate that an accurate and efficient method for computing scattering in elliptical cylinders—something not provided in this article—is the correct model to use for realistic hair in the future and that the new specular behavior should be included as well.
Dismantling of Cadherin-Mediated Cell-Cell Contacts Modulates Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation

Abstract— Proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) contributes to intimal thickening during atherosclerosis and restenosis. The cadherins are transmembrane proteins, which form cell-cell contacts and may regulate VSMC proliferation. In this study, N-cadherin protein concentration was significantly reduced by stimulation of proliferation with fetal calf serum (FCS) and platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) in human saphenous vein VSMCs. Furthermore, overexpression of a truncated N-cadherin, which acts as a dominant-negative increased VSMC proliferation. The amount of an extracellular fragment of N-cadherin (≈90 kDa) in the media after 24 hours was increased by 12-fold by FCS and 11-fold by PDGF-BB, suggesting that N-cadherin levels are regulated by proteolytic shedding. Incubation with a synthetic metalloproteinase inhibitor or adenoviral overexpression of the endogenous tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) demonstrated that metalloproteinase activity was responsible in part for this proteolysis. Although total levels of &bgr;-catenin protein were not affected, &bgr;-catenin was translocated to the nucleus after stimulation with FCS and PDGF-BB. Our data indicates cadherin-mediated cell-cell contacts modulate proliferation in VSMCs. Furthermore, disruption of N-cadherin cell-cell contacts mediated in part by metalloproteinase activity occurs during VSMC proliferation, releasing &bgr;-catenin and possibly inducing &bgr;-catenin-mediated intracellular signaling.
Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War Revisited

In an important recent article, Fearon and Laitin (2003) present strong evidence against the conventional wisdom that the root cause of civil wars in the latter half of the 20th century is ethnic and religious diversity. In the paper below, we argue that ethnic, and perhaps religious, factors likely play a larger role than many researchers would be led to believe from the Fearon and Laitin results. We make two major points. First, under reasonable causal assumptions, the eects of ethnic and religious fractionalization on civil war onset that Fearon and Laitin estimate are direct eects and not total eects. Yet the question of whether ethno-religious diversity is the “root cause” of civil war onset is best understood as a question about the total eect of fractionalization on the onset of conflict. Under plausible causal assumptions, estimates of the total eect of ethnic fractionalization on civil war onset and ethnic war onset are positive, significant, and substantively large enough to be meaningful. Second, if one is primarily interested in the direct eect of ethno-religious diversity on conflict onset, it is the case that some significant relationships do exist. We show that a slightly dierent specification of the model for ethnic war onset reveals a significant, but highly nonlinear, direct eect
An accurate evaluation of electric discharge machining bearings currents in inverter-driven induction motors

In inverter motor drives an increasing fraction of faults is associated to the bearings damages induced by circulating currents. Current flow through the bearings is a consequence of two phenomena which, in turn, may depend on the motor speed. The first one gives rise to a conduction current through the motor bearing if a metallic contact takes place between the shaft and frame (for example, by bearing ball contact at low speed). The second one determines a discharge current when the voltage across the bearing lubricating film exceeds the film breakdown voltage (typically at high rotor angular velocity). These currents are responsible of the so called electric discharge machining (EDM) of the bearings. In order to account for such damaging mechanisms an accurate model for the evaluation of bearings currents in inverter-driven induction motors has been developed and is presented in this paper. The statistical occurrence of the discharges is also taken into account in a simple but accurate way. The model allows to estimate the characteristics of the discharge pulses in typical PWM inverter driven traction motors and hence the energy levels producing the onset of the bearings' damage.
Sero‐epidemiological analysis of the risk of virus infections for childhood leukaemia

Virus infections have been thought to be involved in the development of childhood leukaemia. In order to address this issue we determined, in a case‐control study, the prevalence of antibodies to viruses infecting blood or bone‐marrow cells [Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV), human herpes virus type 6 (HHV‐6), parvovirus B19] as well as to the human virus known for its tumour‐suppressive properties, the adeno‐associated virus type 2 (AAV‐2), in the sera of 121 children with leukaemia in Germany, and in 197 control individuals, hospitalized for other reasons, and matched for age and gender to the cases. In addition, we developed a questionnaire to be answered by the children's parents, in order to gain information on previous infections of the children as well as to calculate for factors which may influence serological findings. Comparative determination of the prevalence of antibodies against AAV‐2, B‐19 or HHV‐6 revealed no significant differences in cases and controls. However, antibodies to EBV were more frequently found in children with leukaemia younger than 6 years of age (age at the time of diagnosis of leukaemia) than in controls. Apparently, infection with AAV‐2 has no protective effect in childhood leukaemia, in contrast to results observed for other malignancies. Similarly, and in accordance with results on leukaemia in adults, we found no indication of a protective effect of infection with the parvovirus B‐19. The data suggest that EBV, which is known to be involved in various lymphomas, may play a role in the development of childhood leukaemia in young children. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Design, Motivation and Performance in a Cooperative MOOC Course

MOOCs are seen as the latest evolution in online learning and, since their launch in 2008, they have become an integral part of university course curricula. Despite the social success of these courses, the learning design and efficacy of their results have been questioned. Most current research has focused more on discussing their potential to offer quality, large-scale education worldwide rather than measuring learning outcomes. This paper shows the results of a research study that focused on the pedagogical design of a cooperative MOOC and its influence on motivation and academic results. A Delphi study was used to validate the design, and the motivation variable was controlled using the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (IMMS). Academic performance was assessed through evidence-based learning. The paper argues that design, which is defined by the students’ intensive use of social networks and the activities they carry out in their Personal Learning Environments, has an influence on performance, and the variable that mediates in that relationship is the level of satisfaction with the perception of the design. The academic results obtained and the students’ motivation support the use of cooperative MOOCs in university education.
Children Abuse: The Credibility of the Victim's Testimony in the Brazilian Justice

This text discusses the care of children and adolescents victims of sexual abuse and the credibility of its narrative in justice institutions. Documentary analysis was carried out in seventy-nine cases sentenced in the Special Court for Children and Adolescents of the city of Belém in the year of 2017. The main findings of the survey indicate the existence of a controversy in relation to the credibility of the testimony of children victims of abuse, the positive and negative aspects of the practice of professionals responsible for mediating the collection of such statements and the precariousness of technical instruments and the human material placed at the disposal of justice, whose shortage directly impacts on the final result of the judgments, generating impunity and new victimization of children.
Degradation of Gadd45 mRNA by nonsense-mediated decay is essential for viability

The nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) pathway functions to degrade both abnormal and wild-type mRNAs. NMD is essential for viability in most organisms, but the molecular basis for this requirement is unknown. Here we show that a single, conserved NMD target, the mRNA coding for the stress response factor growth arrest and DNA-damage inducible 45 (GADD45) can account for lethality in Drosophila lacking core NMD genes. Moreover, depletion of Gadd45 in mammalian cells rescues the cell survival defects associated with NMD knockdown. Our findings demonstrate that degradation of Gadd45 mRNA is the essential NMD function and, surprisingly, that the surveillance of abnormal mRNAs by this pathway is not necessarily required for viability. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.12876. 001
Screening of Drugs Inhibiting In vitro Oligomerization of Cu/Zn-Superoxide Dismutase with a Mutation Causing Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Dominant mutations in Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD1) gene have been shown to cause a familial form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (SOD1-ALS). A major pathological hallmark of this disease is abnormal accumulation of mutant SOD1 oligomers in the affected spinal motor neurons. While no effective therapeutics for SOD1-ALS is currently available, SOD1 oligomerization will be a good target for developing cures of this disease. Recently, we have reproduced the formation of SOD1 oligomers abnormally cross-linked via disulfide bonds in a test tube. Using our in vitro model of SOD1 oligomerization, therefore, we screened 640 FDA-approved drugs for inhibiting the oligomerization of SOD1 proteins, and three effective classes of chemical compounds were identified. Those hit compounds will provide valuable information on the chemical structures for developing a novel drug candidate suppressing the abnormal oligomerization of mutant SOD1 and possibly curing the disease.
Adaptive MIMO OFDMA for Future Generation Cellular Systems in a Realistic Outdoor Environment

This paper presents a downlink performance evaluation of a candidate physical layer for future generation cellular communications systems employing link adaptive MIMO-OFDMA. Adaptation between various modulation and coding schemes in combination with both space-time block codes (STBC) and spatial multiplexing (SM) on the basis of channel knowledge is considered. By means of ray-tracing software, a detailed example coherent time-variant channel trace is generated. Subsequent application of physical layer simulation software to this channel trace yields PER and throughput results for all available link adaptation parameters. Various channel parameters are considered against this data and the SNR and H matrix determinant are found to have the most significant influences on the system throughput. Subsequently, LA algorithms are proposed whereby the system adapts according to SNR only and both SNR and H matrix determinant. The performance of these algorithms is compared to the optimal case
Generating surveys of scientific paradigms

The number of research publications in various disciplines is growing exponentially. Researchers and scientists are increasingly finding themselves in the position of having to quickly understand large amounts of technical material. In this paper we present the first steps in producing an automatically generated, readily consumable, technical survey. Specifically we explore the combination of citation information and summarization techniques. Even though prior work (Teufel et al., 2006) argues that citation text is unsuitable for summarization, we show that in the framework of multi-document survey creation, citation texts can play a crucial role.
Epilepsy and identity: a linguistic analysis of seizure label semantics

ABSTRACT Background: The stigma of epilepsy still holds fast today, and consequently results in people with epilepsy not seeking the support they require. To date, little research has been conducted into seizure label preferences. This paper contributes new findings to this growing body of research. Methods: Participants with epilepsy completed an online survey stating their preferences for seizure labels: seizure; fit; attack; episode; s/he is having a seizure/fit; and s/he is fitting/seizing. Through a thematic linguistic analysis of the participants’ comments, this paper investigates the influence of semantics and grammatical variation to assess how these linguistic features portray epilepsy. The semantic implications of individuals’ personal seizure labels are also explored. Results: The consensus falls with seizure and s/he is having a seizure, as the alternative choices were comparatively less popular and illustrated many negative connotations. The participants’ explanations their ‘least preferable’ rankings were categorized and thematically aligned. This proposed taxonomy offers insight into how different labels shape identity and contribute to the stigma. The grammatical variations of the phrases appear to contribute to (mis)representing seizure trajectory and imagery. The personalized seizure labels offered by a selection of participants may also be suggestive of the seizure experience itself. Conclusions: The consensus of these results can guide healthcare professionals and the media to opt, in the first instance, for the terms/ phrases that have been thought as the most preferable, and to avoid using those ranked by the majority as least preferable.
Getting Closer or Drifting Apart

Advances in communication and transportation technologies have the potential to bring people closer together and create a "global village. " However, they also allow heterogeneous agents to segregate along special interests, which gives rise to communities fragmented by type rather than by geography. We show that lower communication costs should always decrease separation between individual agents even as group-based separation increases. Each measure of separation is pertinent for distinct types of social interaction. A group-based measure captures the diversity of group preferences that can have an impact on the provision of public goods. While an individual measure correlates with the speed of information transmission through the social network that affects, for example, learning about job opportunities and new technologies. We test the model by looking at coauthoring between academic economists before and during the rise of the Internet in the 1990s. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
Local structure and algorithms in nonsmooth optimization

Given a real δ, find stable real polynomials p and q such that the polynomial r(s) = (s − 2δs + 1)p(s) + (s − 1)q(s) is also stable. (We call a polynomial p stable if its abscissa α(p) = max{Re s : p(s) = 0} is nonpositive. ) Clearly the problem is unsolvable if δ = 1, since then r(1) = 0; more delicate results (summarized in [7]) show it remains unsolvable for δ < 1 close to 1. Blondel offered a prize of 1kg of Belgian chocolate for the case δ = 0.9, a problem solved via randomized search in [7]. To illustrate the theme of this talk, we first outline (based on joint work with D. Henrion) a more systematic, optimization approach to the chocolate problem. We fix the degrees of the polynomials p and q (say 3, for example), without loss of generality suppose p is monic, and consider the resulting problem
Re-examining the Validity of the Full-Range Leadership Models

Ethiopia converges with other cultural groups on certain values and diverges on some others (Hofstede, 2001). As a result of the cultural divergence, it was hypothesized that the psychometric properties of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and the leadership models are likely to vary in the Ethiopian context. For that purpose, six hundred twenty seven academic staff from three public universities located in the National Regional State of Tigray were selected using stratified sampling. The participants rated their immediate leader’s leadership practices using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire trimmed by Avolio, Bass, and Jung (1999). The participants also rated their own organizational commitment using the Meyer, Allen, and Smith (1993) revised Organizational Commitment Scale. Confirmatory factor analysis of the eight competing models showed that the data fit best to a nine-factor model. Correlational analysis indicated that the five components of transformational leadership, contingent reward, and management-by-exception active had strong relationships (r > .7) with each other, which indicates the existence of higherorder factors. The search for higher-order factors again produced a two-factor leadership model (active and passive) with a good fit. The criterion validity of the nine factors were also tested. Correlational analysis showed that with the exception of active management-by-exception, the other factors showed functional universality as proposed by Bass (1997). Conclusions, implications, limitations, and future research directions were discussed
The Value of Emotion: How Does Episodic Prospection Modulate Delay Discounting?

Background Humans often show impatience when making intertemporal choice for monetary rewards, preferring small rewards delivered immediately to larger rewards delivered after a delay, which reflects a fundamental psychological principle: delay discounting. However, we propose that episodic prospection humans can vividly envisage exerts a strong and broad influence on individuals' delay discounting. Specifically, episodic prospection may affect individuals' intertemporal choice by the negative or positive emotion of prospection. Methodology/Principal Findings The present study explored how episodic prospection modulated delay discounting by emotion. Study 1 showed that participants were more inclined to choose the delayed but larger rewards when they imaged positive future events than when they did not image events; Study 2 showed that participants were more inclined to choose the immediate but smaller rewards when they imaged negative future events than when they did not image events; In contrast, study 3 showed that choice preferences of participants when they imaged neutral future events were the same as when they did not image events. Conclusions/Significance By manipulating the emotion valence of episodic prospection, our findings suggested that positive emotion made individuals tend to choose delayed rewards, while negative emotion made individuals tend to choose immediate rewards. Only imaging events with neutral emotion did not affect individuals' choice preference. Thus, the valence of imaged future events' emotion might play an important role in individuals' intertemporal choice. It is possible that the valence of emotion may affect the changed direction (promote or inhibit) of individuals' delay discounting, while the ability to image future events affects the changed degree of individuals' delay discounting.