Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
GridVideo: A Practical Example of Nonscientific Application on the Grid

Starting from 1990s and until now, Grid computing has been mainly used in scientific laboratories. Only in the last few years, it is evolving into a business-innovating technology that is driving commercial adoption. In this paper, we describe GridVideo, a Grid-based multimedia application for the distributed tailoring and streaming of media files. The objective is to show, starting from a real experience, how Grid technologies can be used for the development of nonscientific applications. Relevant performance aspects are analyzed, regarding both user-oriented (in terms of responsiveness) and provider-oriented (in terms of system efficiency) requirements. Different multimedia data dissemination strategies have been analyzed and an innovative technique, based on the Fibonacci series, is proposed. To respond to the stringent quality-of-service (QoS) requirements, typical of soft real-time applications, a reservation-based architecture is presented. Such architecture is able to manage the Grid resource allocation, thus enabling the provisioning of advanced services with different QoS levels. Technical and practical problems encountered during the development are discussed, and a thorough performance evaluation of the developed prototype is presented.
Individual differences in preference for thought suppression: Components and correlates of the White Bear Suppression Inventory

This study examines the psychometric properties of the White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI, Wegner & Zanakos, 1994) in a sample of Italian undergraduate students. The WBSI was designed as a self-report measure of people’s chronic tendency to suppress thoughts. Consistent with Blumberg’s (2000) analysis, in the present sample factor analysis of the scale revealed three correlated factors: unwanted intrusive thoughts, thought suppression, and self-distraction (to avoid thoughts). Individual differences needed for cognitive closure (NfCC) and regulatory mode orientations (locomotion and assessment) were found to be diversely correlated with the three factors of the WBSI scale. Specifically, NfCC was positively correlated with thought suppression, assessment was positively correlated with unwanted intrusive thoughts, and locomotion was positively correlated with self-distraction as a cognitive avoidance strategy. The theoretical meaning of these findings is considered.
PSI3: An open‐source Ab Initio electronic structure package

PSI3 is a program system and development platform for ab initio molecular electronic structure computations. The package includes mature programming interfaces for parsing user input, accessing commonly used data such as basis‐set information or molecular orbital coefficients, and retrieving and storing binary data (with no software limitations on file sizes or file‐system‐sizes), especially multi‐index quantities such as electron repulsion integrals. This platform is useful for the rapid implementation of both standard quantum chemical methods, as well as the development of new models. Features that have already been implemented include Hartree‐Fock, multiconfigurational self‐consistent‐field, second‐order Møller‐Plesset perturbation theory, coupled cluster, and configuration interaction wave functions. Distinctive capabilities include the ability to employ Gaussian basis functions with arbitrary angular momentum levels; linear R12 second‐order perturbation theory; coupled cluster frequency‐dependent response properties, including dipole polarizabilities and optical rotation; and diagonal Born‐Oppenheimer corrections with correlated wave functions. This article describes the programming infrastructure and main features of the package. PSI3 is available free of charge through the open‐source, GNU General Public License. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2007
A Study of Gaming Machine Players Aged 60+ in Licensed Clubs

Local gambling venues are an important contemporary context for older people's gambling in many parts of the world typically being more accessible to this segment of the population than traditional, centralised gambling venues, such as casi- nos. This study, undertaken in South East Queensland, analyses older people's electronic gaming machine (EGM) behaviour and motivations, specifically in the context of licensed social and recreational clubs—a popular local gambling venue in many parts of Australia. The study gathered data via a postal survey of 80 managers of licensed clubs, interviews with Gambling Help services and a survey of 414 people aged 60+ who regularly play EGMs, self-administered on site at local clubs. The analysis undertaken suggests that certain age-related circumstances of older people— such as being without a partner, having a disability that impacts on everyday activities, having a low annual income, and no longer participating in the workforce—are asso- ciated with higher overall levels of motivation for playing EGMs and greater reliance on EGMs to meet social, recreational and mental health needs. Over a quarter of the older people surveyed (27%) reported drawing on their savings to fund their EGM gambling. Certain categories of older people, including those who were without a partner and those with a disability, were more likely to report drawing on their savings to fund EGM play and betting more than they could afford to lose, pointing to age- related vulnerabilities older people may experience to the negative impacts of gambling given the greater likelihood of their dependency on smaller, fixed incomes. The explanatory contribution of a range of demographic and motivational variables on problem/moderate risk gambling status was computed via a logistic regression model. Younger age (60-69), male gender, single marital status and being motivated to play EGMs to experience excitement and to win money all emerged as significant predictors in the model.
Relationship of Preservice Music Teachers’ Primary Instrument Background and Teaching Effectiveness in Brass and Woodwind Techniques Classes

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between preservice music teachers’ primary instrument background and their teaching effectiveness in brass and woodwind techniques classes. Study participants (N = 135) were preservice music teachers enrolled in secondary instrument techniques courses (brass and woodwinds) from fall 2011 through spring 2015 in three universities. Participants taught a 10-minute video recorded lesson to a beginning-level university student on a brass or woodwind instrument at the end of the semester. All videos were subsequently assessed by two researchers using a researcher-designed rubric. The results of analyses of variance showed that brass-teaching scores tended to be higher than woodwind-teaching scores for all groups. Brass players taught brass more effectively than woodwind players, and woodwind players taught woodwinds better than brass players. Brass and woodwind players scored higher than percussionists, vocalists, pianists, and string players in both brass and woodwind teaching. Implications for music teacher education are discussed.
1: The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Past Lessons, Current Challenges, and Future Visions

This chapter reviews thecomplex history ofthescholarship ofteaching and learn ing(So TL) including SoTL asa social movement and various conceptualizations ofthe term. Based on extant work. I also discuss pastlessons. current challenges. andfuturedirectionsfor SoTL. Additionaltheorizing and research are needed in manyareas. Suggestions related tofaculty and organizational development and change are imbedded in thisdiscussion.
Generalised elastic nets

The elastic net was introduced as a heuristic algorithm for combinatorial optimisation and has been applied, among other problems, to biological modelling. It has an energy function which trades off a fitness term against a tension term. In the original formulation of the algorithm the tension term was implicitly based on a first-order derivative. In this paper we generalise the elastic net model to an arbitrary quadratic tension term, e.g. derived from a discretised differential operator, and give an efficient learning algorithm. We refer to these as generalised elastic nets (GENs). We give a theoretical analysis of the tension term for 1D nets with periodic boundary conditions, and show that the model is sensitive to the choice of finite difference scheme that represents the discretised derivative. We illustrate some of these issues in the context of cortical map models, by relating the choice of tension term to a cortical interaction function. In particular, we prove that this interaction takes the form of a Mexican hat for the original elastic net, and of progressively more oscillatory Mexican hats for higher-order derivatives. The results apply not only to generalised elastic nets but also to other methods using discrete differential penalties, and are expected to be useful in other areas, such as data analysis, computer graphics and optimisation problems.
Evolutionary design of application tailored neural networks

An evolutionary algorithm for designing single hidden-layer feedforward neural networks is proposed. The algorithm constructs a problem-tailored neural network by incremental introduction of new hidden units. Each new hidden unit is added to the network by linear partitioning of the hidden-layer representation through a genetic search. A two-stage algorithm speed-up is achieved through: (1) a distributed genetic search for hidden-layer unit construction, along with the appropriate input to hidden-layer weights; and (2) a 'dynamic pocket algorithm' for learning the hidden-to-output layer weights. Finally, promising experimental results are presented on the fast construction of small networks having good generalization properties. <<ETX>>
Towards a pure ZZ Ceti instability strip

Context. We have observed again two stars inside the ZZ Ceti instability strip that were previously classified as not-observed-to-vary (NOV) by Mukadam et al. (2004) and found them to be low-amplitude variables. Some evidence points to a pure ZZ Ceti instability strip; other evidence contests it. Aims. The two stars previously classified as NOV have Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectroscopic effective temperatures that place them inside the ZZ Ceti instability strip, and they were "contaminating" the strip as constant stars, which could indicate that the instability strip was no longer a simple evolutionary stage. A pure instability strip indicates that pulsation is a normal phase which all DAs must go through. Methods. We used effective temperatures derived from SDSS optical spectra by comparing them with model atmospheres to look for pulsators through time-resolved photometry and stars previously classified as NOV. Results. Our new results indicate, but do not prove, a pure instability strip, because there are still other NOV stars that need to be observed again. Additionally, we have discovered five other ZZ Ceti stars based on their effective temperatures.
Quality of Life after Stapled Hemorrhoidopexy: A Prospective Observational Study

Objective. The objective of the study was to assess the change in quality of life (QOL) of patients undergoing stapled hemorrhoidopexy (SH) using WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire. Methods. The study sample comprised patients with symptomatic II, III, and IV degree hemorrhoids, undergoing SH. The patients were asked to complete WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire before and one month following the surgery. Result. There were 20 patients in the study group. The postoperative pain score measured by visual analogue scale at six hours postoperatively was 7.60 ± 1.23, which reduced to 0.70 ± 0.92 at 24 hours. The items in the WHOQOL-BREF had high-internal consistency or reliability as shown by high Cronbach's alpha coefficient which was 0.82 and 0.90 for pre- and postoperative questionnaires. There was significant improvement in the overall perception of QOL and health, and in physical and psychological domains. There was modest improvement in environmental domain, while no change was noted in social domain. Conclusion. SH improved the quality of life of patients treated for hemorrhoids.
Discovery of Five Recycled Pulsars in a High Galactic Latitude Survey

We present five recycled pulsars discovered during a 21 cm survey of approximately 4150 deg2 between 15° and 30° from the Galactic plane using the Parkes radio telescope. One new pulsar, PSR J1528-3146, has a 61 ms spin period and a massive white dwarf companion. Like many recycled pulsars with heavy companions, the orbital eccentricity is relatively high (~0.0002), consistent with evolutionary models that predict less time for circularization. The four remaining pulsars have short spin periods (3 ms < P < 6 ms); three of these have probable white dwarf binary companions and one (PSR J2010-1323) is isolated. PSR J1600-3053 is relatively bright for its dispersion measure of 52.3 pc cm-3 and promises good timing precision thanks to an intrinsically narrow feature in its pulse profile, resolvable through coherent dedispersion. In this survey, the recycled pulsar discovery rate was 1 per 4 days of telescope time or 1 per 600 deg2 of sky. The variability of these sources implies that there are more millisecond pulsars that might be found by repeating this survey.
Confusion noise at far-infrared to millimetre wavelengths

We present detailed predictions for the confusion noise due to extragalactic sources in the far-infrared/(sub)millimetre channels of the ESA/ISO, NASA/Spitzer, ESA/Herschel and ESA/Planck satellites, including the contribution from clustering of unresolved SCUBA galaxies. Compared to the case of purely Poisson fluctuations, clustering is found to increase the confusion noise by 10-15 per cent for the lowest frequency (i.e. lowest angular resolution) Spitzer and Herschel channels, and by 25-35 per cent for the 175-μm ISOPHOT channel, and to dominate in the case of Planck/HFI channels at ν ≥ 143 GHz. Although our calculations make use of our recent specific evolutionary model, the results are strongly constrained by the observed counts and by data on the redshift distribution of SCUBA sources, and therefore are not expected to be heavily model-dependent. The main uncertainty arises from the poor observational definition of the source clustering properties. Two models have been used for the latter: a power law with constant slope and a redshift-independent comoving correlation length r 0 ; and the standard theoretical model for clustering evolution in a ACDM universe, with a redshift-dependent bias factor. In both cases, the clustering amplitude has been normalized to yield a unit angular correlation function at θ 0 = 1 -2 arcsec for 850-μm sources fainter than 2 mJy, consistent with earlier results by Peacock et al. This normalization yields, for the first model, r 0 ∼ 8.3 Mpc h -1 , and, for the second model, an effective mass of dark matter haloes in which these sources reside of M halo ∼ 1.8 x 10 13 M ○. h -1 . These results are consistent with independent estimates for SCUBA galaxies and for other, probably related, sources.
The Impact of 18 Ancestral and Horizontally-Acquired Regulatory Proteins upon the Transcriptome and sRNA Landscape of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium

We know a great deal about the genes used by the model pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium to cause disease, but less about global gene regulation. New tools for studying transcripts at the single nucleotide level now offer an unparalleled opportunity to understand the bacterial transcriptome, and expression of the small RNAs (sRNA) and coding genes responsible for the establishment of infection. Here, we define the transcriptomes of 18 mutants lacking virulence-related global regulatory systems that modulate the expression of the SPI1 and SPI2 Type 3 secretion systems of S. Typhimurium strain 4/74. Using infection-relevant growth conditions, we identified a total of 1257 coding genes that are controlled by one or more regulatory system, including a sub-class of genes that reflect a new level of cross-talk between SPI1 and SPI2. We directly compared the roles played by the major transcriptional regulators in the expression of sRNAs, and discovered that the RpoS (σ38) sigma factor modulates the expression of 23% of sRNAs, many more than other regulatory systems. The impact of the RNA chaperone Hfq upon the steady state levels of 280 sRNA transcripts is described, and we found 13 sRNAs that are co-regulated with SPI1 and SPI2 virulence genes. We report the first example of an sRNA, STnc1480, that is subject to silencing by H-NS and subsequent counter-silencing by PhoP and SlyA. The data for these 18 regulatory systems is now available to the bacterial research community in a user-friendly online resource, SalComRegulon.
Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress

Background. A 10-question screening scale of psychological distress and a six-question short-form scale embedded within the 10-question scale were developed for the redesigned US National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Methods. Initial pilot questions were administered in a US national mail survey (N = 1401). A reduced set of questions was subsequently administered in a US national telephone survey (N = 1574). The 10-question and six-question scales, which we refer to as the K10 and K6, were constructed from the reduced set of questions based on Item Response Theory models. The scales were subsequently validated in a two-stage clinical reappraisal survey (N = 1000 telephone screening interviews in the first stage followed by N = 153 face-to-face clinical interviews in the second stage that oversampled first-stage respondents who screened positive for emotional problems) in a local convenience sample. The second-stage sample was administered the screening scales along with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID). The K6 was subsequently included in the 1997 (N = 36116) and 1998 (N = 32440) US National Health Interview Survey, while the K10 was included in the 1997 (N = 10641) Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being. Results. Both the K10 and K6 have good precision in the 90th–99th percentile range of the population distribution (standard errors of standardized scores in the range 0·20–0·25) as well as consistent psychometric properties across major sociodemographic subsamples. The scales strongly discriminate between community cases and non-cases of DSM-IV/SCID disorders, with areas under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve of 0·87–0·88 for disorders having Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scores of 0–70 and 0·95–0·96 for disorders having GAF scores of 0–50. Conclusions. The brevity, strong psychometric properties, and ability to discriminate DSM-IV cases from non-cases make the K10 and K6 attractive for use in general-purpose health surveys. The scales are already being used in annual government health surveys in the US and Canada as well as in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys. Routine inclusion of either the K10 or K6 in clinical studies would create an important, and heretofore missing, crosswalk between community and clinical epidemiology.
On Dreams and Motivation: Comparison of Freud’s and Hobson’s Views

The merits of Freudian dream theory continue to be debated and both supporters and critics appeal to empirical evidence to support their respective positions. What receives much less attention is the theoretical coherency of either Freudian dream theory or alternative perspectives. This paper examines Freudian dream theory and J. Allan Hobson’s alternative position by addressing the role of motivation in dreams. This paper first discusses motivation in Freudian theory and its relation to dreams and disguise-censorship. The role of motivation in Hobson’s theory is then considered. Hobson’s claim that dream plot and content selection is random and based on design error and functional imbalance is then discussed in relation to the protoconsciousness theory proposal that dreams serve an adaptive function. While there are apparent inconsistencies in Hobson’s position, his appeal to emotions and instincts provides a preliminary platform for understanding the role of motivation in dreams that is consonant with the Freudian position.
Creating a junior minds’ community

Connecting with junior colleagues across the three linguistic regions of Switzerland, knowing the essentials of the Swiss neurology curriculum, conducting research, considering a fellowship abroad, preparing neurological activity in private practice - all these topics are of vital interest for young neurologists. However, keeping up with such essential aspects of neurological training usually turns out quite demanding for residents as individuals. Junior neurologists’ associations help to deal with such issues. In 2014, a group of enthusiastic juniors, encouraged by several senior neurologists, founded the Swiss Association of Young Neurologists (SAYN) within the Swiss Neurological Society (SNS). Here, we describe key missions and activities of the SAYN, its role and interactions within the Swiss and European clinical neuroscience community, and provide an outlook on future challenges and opportunities for young neurologists.
A motivational account of the undergraduate experience in science: brief measures of students’ self-system appraisals, engagement in coursework, and identity as a scientist

ABSTRACT As part of long-standing efforts to promote undergraduates’ success in science, researchers have investigated the instructional strategies and motivational factors that promote student learning and persistence in science coursework and majors. This study aimed to create a set of brief measures that educators and researchers can use as tools to examine the undergraduate motivational experience in science classes. To identify key motivational processes, we drew on self-determination theory (SDT), which holds that students have fundamental needs – to feel competent, related, and autonomous – that fuel their intrinsic motivation. When educational experiences meet these needs, students engage more energetically and learn more, cumulatively contributing to a positive identity as a scientist. Based on information provided by 1013 students from 8 classes in biology, chemistry, and physics, we constructed conceptually focused and psychometrically sound survey measures of three sets of motivational factors: (1) students’ appraisals of their own competence, autonomy, and relatedness; (2) the quality of students’ behavioural and emotional engagement in academic work; and (3) students’ emerging identities as scientists, including their science identity, purpose in science, and science career plans. Using an iterative confirmatory process, we tested short item sets for unidimensionality and internal consistency, and then cross-validated them. Tests of measurement invariance showed that scales were generally comparable across disciplines. Most importantly, scales and final course grades showed correlations consistent with predictions from SDT. These measures may provide a window on the student motivational experience for educators, researchers, and interventionists who aim to improve the quality of undergraduate science teaching and learning.