Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
First Results on Shear-selected Clusters from the Deep Lens Survey: Optical Imaging, Spectroscopy, and X-Ray Follow-up

We present the first sample of galaxy clusters selected on the basis of their weak gravitational lensing shear. The shear induced by a cluster is a function of its mass profile and its redshift relative to the background galaxies being sheared; in contrast to more traditional methods of selecting clusters, shear selection does not depend on the cluster's star formation history, baryon content, or dynamical state. Because mass is the property of clusters that provides constraints on cosmological parameters, the dependence on these other parameters could induce potentially important biases in traditionally selected samples. Comparison of a shear-selected sample with optically and X-ray-selected samples is therefore of great importance. Here we present the first step toward a new shear-selected sample: the selection of cluster candidates from the first 8.6 deg2 of the 20 deg2 Deep Lens Survey (DLS), and tabulation of their basic properties such as redshifts and optical and X-ray counterparts.
Improved Hypertension Control with the Imidazoline Agonist Moxonidine in a Multinational Metabolic Syndrome Population: Principal Results of the MERSY Study

This study was designed to assess the effects of moxonidine on blood pressure and aspects of the metabolic syndrome in racially diverse population of patients encountered in routine medical practice. Physicians collected data on a minimum of three consecutive patients with uncontrolled essential hypertension and criteria for metabolic syndrome, eligible to receive moxonidine (0.2–0.4 mg once daily) for 6 months, either as monotherapy or as adjunct therapy to current antihypertensive treatment. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) declined by an average of 24.5 + 14.3 mmHg and 12.6 + 9.1 mmHg, respectively. BP responder rates defined as attaining BP < 140/90 mmHg were significantly (P < 0.001) and substantially higher among younger patients, nonpostmenopausal women, and patients receiving monotherapy. While potentially relevant improvements in the entire cohort were observed in regard to body weight (−2.1 ± 5.4 kg), fasting plasma glucose (from 6.8 to 6.2 mmol/L), and triglycerides (2.4 to 2.0 mmol/L), statistically significant changes in metabolic parameters could only be detected in subgroup analyses. Moxonidine therapy reduced blood pressure and improved rates of blood pressure control in this group of patients. While the observed trend towards improvement in various metabolic parameters merits further investigation, the overall effect of moxonidine treatment is consistent with a reduction of total cardiovascular risk in this hypertensive metabolic syndrome cohort.
The Functional Impact of the Intrastriatal Dopamine Neuron Grafts in Parkinsonian Rats Is Reduced with Advancing Disease

Clinical trials involving intrastriatal transplants of human embryonic mesencephalic tissue have provided proof-of-principle that nigral dopamine (DA) neurons can survive and functionally integrate into the host neural circuitry. However, the degree of graft-induced symptomatic relief differs significantly between the patients. This variability has led to investigations aimed at identifying factors that could affect the clinical outcome. The extent and pattern of dopaminergic denervation in the brain may be one of the major determinants of the functional outcome after intrastriatal DA cell grafts. Here, we report that in animals subjected to an intrastriatal 6-hydroxydopamine lesion of the striatal dopaminergic afferent, the integrity of the host dopaminergic innervation outside the areas innervated by the graft is critical for optimal function of DA neurons placed in the striatum. Established graft-induced functional recovery, as assessed in the stepping and cylinder tests, was compromised in animals in which the dopaminergic lesion was extended to include also the medial and ventral striatum as well as the cortical and limbic DA projections. Poor clinical outcome after transplantation may, thus, at least in part, be caused by dopaminergic denervation in areas outside the graft-innervated territories, and similarly beneficial effects initially observed in patients may regress if the degeneration of the host extrastriatal DA projection systems proceeds with advancing disease. This would have two implications: first, patients with advanced disease involving the ventral striatum and/or nonstriatal DA projections would be unlikely to respond well to intrastriatal DA grafts and, second, to retain the full benefit of the grafts, progression of the disease should be avoided by, for example, combining cell therapy with a neuroprotective approach.
Formal Verification of Protocol Properties of Sequential Java Programs

Protocol properties are essential properties in reusable library classes and object-oriented application frameworks. A protocol is the order in which the methods exported by the module have to be called, which can be referred as a set of allowed method call sequences. Checking protocol properties can be done at runtime, however, such runtime checks needs to insert checking codes into the source program, which results in decreasing the efficiency of the execution of the source program. In this paper an approach to formal verification of protocol properties of sequential Java programs is presented. At first protocol properties for a sequential Java program are specified as a set of finite state automata, where each finite state automaton represents a protocol for a class in the Java program. Then a set of rules are introduced for automatically generating all possible method call sequences of a Java program. These rules are established on different syntactic structures of Java programs. By applying these rules to a Java program, a context free grammar (CFG) will be produced for representing all possible method call sequences. These rules are given by a transforming function. Finally verification of protocol properties for a Java program is formalized by properly inserting actions of checking protocol properties in its method call sequences CFG. Protocol properties verifier can be build as the implementation of the method call sequences CFG with semantic actions. Some issues on our approach are discussed. The main contribution of our work is to use context free grammar to represent all the possible method call sequences of a Java program, which allows verifying protocol properties by inserting protocol checking into the implementation of CFG. Our approach separates protocol specifications from source code and makes no changes to the source code; therefore, it is more effective than runtime checking. Our work is useful for checking the correctness of a Java program with respect to its specification.
Deep learning algorithms for signal recognition in long perimeter monitoring distributed fiber optic sensors

In this paper, we show an approach to build deep learning algorithms for recognizing signals in distributed fiber optic monitoring and security systems for long perimeters. Synthesizing such detection algorithms poses a non-trivial research and development challenge, because these systems face stringent error (type I and II) requirements and operate in difficult signal-jamming environments, with intensive signal-like jamming and a variety of changing possible signal portraits of possible recognized events. To address these issues, we have developed a two-level event detection architecture, where the primary classifier is based on an ensemble of deep convolutional networks, can recognize 7 classes of signals and receives time-space data frames as input. Using real-life data, we have shown that the applied methods result in efficient and robust multiclass detection algorithms that have a high degree of adaptability.
Starbursts and torus evolution in AGN

Recent VLT SINFONI observations of the close environments (∼30 pc) of nearby AGNs have shown that thick gas tori and starbursts with ages between 10 and 150 Myr are frequently found. By applying these observations to a previously established analytical model of clumpy accretion disks, we suggest an evolutionary sequence for starburst and AGN phases. Whereas the observed properties of the gas tell us about the current state of the torus, the starburst characteristics provide information on the history of the torus. In the suggested evolution, a torus passes through 3 different phases predetermined by an external mass accretion rate. Started by an initial, short, and massive gas infall, a turbulent and stellar wind-driven Q ∼ 1 disk is formed in which the starburst proceeds. Once the supernovae explode the intercloud medium is removed, leaving a massive, geometrically thick, collisional disk with a decreasing, but still high-mass accretion rate. When the mass accretion rate has significantly decreased, the collisional torus becomes thin and transparent as the circumnuclear disk in the Galactic center of the Milky Way. Variations on this scenario are possible either when there is a second short and massive gas infall, in which case the torus may switch back into the starburst mode, or when there is no initial short massive gas infall. All observed tori up to now have been collisional and thick. The observations show that this phase can last more than 100 Myr. During this phase the decrease in the mass accretion rate within the torus is slow (a factor of 4 within 150 Myr). The collisional tori also form stars, but with an efficiency of about 10% when compared to a turbulent disk.
Prevalence and Risk Factors of Depression in Ethiopia: A Review

Background Depression is the most common and disabling mental illness in the globe. It accounts for about 6.5% of the burden of diseases in Ethiopia. Regardless of its severity and relapse rate, there are no synthesized evidences about its prevalence and potential risk factors in Ethiopia. The aim of this review was thus to synthesize scientific information about the prevalence and potential risk factors of depression in Ethiopia. Methods Out of 37 papers, 31 were collected from PubMed, Medline and Google Scholar electronic databases, and the remaining six from Addis Ababa University, Department of Psychiatry. But, 13 articles were removed after reading the titles; five after reading the abstracts and two after reading the manuscripts and five of them were duplicates. Finally, 12 papers were reviewed and the pooled prevalence was also computed. Results The pooled prevalence of depression for the five studies, which had used Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), was 6.8% (95%, CI: 6.4–7.3); but, it increased to 11% (95% CI: 10.4–11.5) when three other studies that had used other screening tools were included. Demographic variables such as sex, age, marital status, violence, migration and substance use were associated with depression, but not with economic factors. Conclusions More attention should be given to socio-demographic risk factors and intimate partner violence, since they are potential risk factors of depression. The prevalence of depression in Ethiopia was also found comparable to that of some high-income countries.
Snow in a Very Steep Rock Face: Accumulation and Redistribution During and After a Snowfall Event

Terrestrial laser scanning was used to measure snow thickness changes (perpendicular to the surface) in a rock face. The aim was to investigate the accumulation and redistribution of snow in extremely steep terrain (>60°). The north-east face of the Chlein Schiahorn in the region of Davos in eastern Switzerland was scanned before and several times after a snowfall event. A summer scan without snow was acquired to calculate the total snow thickness. An improved postprocessing procedure is introduced. The data quality could be increased by using snow thickness instead of snow depth (measured vertically) and by consistently applying Multi Station Adjustment to improve the registration. More snow was deposited in the flatter, smoother areas of the rock face. The spatial variability of the snow thickness change was high. The spatial patterns of the total snow thickness were similar to those of the snow thickness change. The correlation coefficient between them was 0.86. The fresh snow was partly redistributed from extremely steep to flatter terrain, presumably mostly through avalanching. The redistribution started during the snowfall and ended several days later. Snow was able to accumulate permanently at every slope angle. The amount of snow in extremely steep terrain was limited but not negligible. Areas steeper than 60° received 15% of the snowfall and contained 10% of the total amount of snow.
ec 2 00 2 Renormalization of Discrete Models without Background

Conventional renormalization methods in statistical physics and lattice quantum field theory assume a flat metric background. We outline here a generalization of such methods to models on discretized spaces without metric background. Cellular decompositions play the role of discretizations. The group of scale transformations is replaced by the groupoid of changes of cellular decompositions. We introduce cellular moves which generate this groupoid and allow to define a renormalization groupoid flow. We proceed to test our approach on several models. Quantum BF theory is the simplest example as it is almost topological and the renormalization almost trivial. More interesting is generalized lattice gauge theory for which a qualitative picture of the renormalization groupoid flow can be given. This is confirmed by the exact renormalization in dimension two. A main motivation for our approach are discrete models of quantum gravity. We investigate both the Reisenberger and the Barrett-Crane spin foam model in view of their amenability to a renormalization treatment. In the second case a lack of tunable local parameters prompts us to introduce a new model. For the Reisenberger and the new model we discuss qualitative aspects of the renormalization groupoid flow. In both cases quantum BF theory is the UV fixed point. ∗email: oeckl@cpt.univ-mrs.fr
Memory-aware i-vector extraction by means of sub-space factorization

Most of the state-of-the-art speaker recognition systems use i-vectors, a compact representation of spoken utterances. Since the “standard” i-vector extraction procedure requires large memory structures, we recently presented the Factorized Sub-space Estimation (FSE) approach, an efficient technique that dramatically reduces the memory needs for i-vector extraction, and is also fast and accurate compared to other proposed approaches. FSE is based on the approximation of the matrix T, representing the speaker variability sub-space, by means of the product of appropriately designed matrices. In this work, we introduce and evaluate a further approximation of the matrices that most contribute to the memory costs in the FSE approach, showing that it is possible to obtain comparable system accuracy using less than a half of FSE memory, which corresponds to more than 60 times memory reduction with respect to the standard method of i-vector extraction.
Effects of measurement methods on the relationship between smoking and delay reward discounting.

AIMS Delay reward discounting (DRD) measures the degree to which a person prefers smaller rewards soon or larger rewards later. People who smoke have been shown to have higher DRD. There are several ways of measuring DRD, and the method used might influence the association between smoking and DRD. The key differences are the order in which the items are presented, the delays used and the magnitude of the delayed amount. SETTING An international online study running from September 2010 to June 2011. PARTICIPANTS A total of 9454 individuals; 38% male, mean age = 23.1 years. DESIGN AND MEASUREMENTS Users completed a multi-item DRD task. They were randomly presented the immediate rewards in an ascending, descending or randomized order. The delays were between 1 week and 5 years. The delayed amounts were $1000 for all delays, and $100 for 1 month. Users also self-reported their smoking status. FINDINGS A hyperbolic DRD function fitted better than an exponential function. There were differences in the derived DRD function based on methodology used; items presented in a randomized order, longer delays and smaller rewards showed steeper discounting. However, these did not interact with smoking status, as for all methodologies used daily smokers showed the steepest discounting, followed by non-daily smokers, then non-smokers. CONCLUSIONS Smokers discount future consequences more than non-smokers, irrespective of which measurement is used, but variations in method lead to different estimates that are not comparable between experiments.
Unifying Textual and Visual: A Theoretical Account of the Visual Perception of Programming Languages

Firm principles which can be relied on to analyze and discuss textual and graphical code representations are still missing. We propose a framework relying on ScanVis, an extension of the Semiology of Graphics that models the perception and scanning of abstract graphics, to model and to provide plausible explanations of phenomena pertaining to the visual perception of representations of code. This framework unifies many aspects of the visual layout and appearance of programming languages and reveals similarities and substantial differences in the visual operations required by those notations. We also show how the framework may help compare and generate representations of programming languages with respect to visual perception. This work suggests that the gap between textual and graphical languages is narrow, and that all kind of programming languages should rely on the capability of the human visual system.
The Influence of Line and Surface Modifications in Product Design on Brand Recognition and Novelty

The choice between novelty and familiarity when introducing a redesigned product is a crucial decision. A look into the processes of object perception reveals that novelty and similarity/familiarity are not two poles of the same dimension. Instead it is possible that consumers can perceive new products as both novel from and similar to a former product. Based on the 4-stage model of object perception this paper provides an explanation of how specific visual design stimuli (line and surface) affect brand recognition and novelty perception. Results from experimental studies are presented.
Assessment of 25 ( oh ) Vitamin D 3 in Asthmatic Children in S . P . M . C . H . I , Jaipur

Objective: To determine the difference in mean of 25-OH-D3in different groups of asthmatic children ( i.e. mild, moderate and severe). Study design:A hospital based observational, descriptive and comparative analysis. Setting: This study was conducted in the Department of Pediatrics, S.P.M.C. H.I, attached to S.M. S Medical college, Jaipur,from May 2014 to April 2015. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 75 (25 severe, 25 moderate and 25 mild asthmatic children) children aged between 6 and 15 years. Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin-D levels were determined and compared between the three groups. The association between vitamin-D levels and lung function was studied in the asthmatic children. Results: Serum vitamin-D level was significantly lower in severe asthmatic children than in mild asthmatic children and vitamin-D levels had a significant positive correlation with FEV1%. Conclusion: Vitamin-D deficiency is highly prevalent in asthmatic children and there was a significant inverse relationship between vitamin D levels and severity of asthma symptoms. Vitamin D is also associated with airway limitation.
Schizophrenia: an integrative approach to modelling a complex disorder.

The discovery of candidate susceptibility genes for schizophrenia and the generation of mice lacking proteins that reproduce biochemical processes that are disrupted in this mental illness offer unprecedented opportunities for improved modelling of this complex disorder. Several lines of evidence indicate that obstetrical complications, as well as fetal or neonatal exposure to viral infection, are predisposing events for some forms of schizophrenia. These environmental events can be modelled in animals, resulting in some of the characteristic features of schizophrenia; however, animal models have yet to be developed that encompass both environmental and genetic aspects of this mental illness. A large number of candidate schizophrenia susceptibility genes have been identified that encode proteins implicated in the regulation of synaptic plasticity, neurotransmission, neuronal migration, cell adherence, signal transduction, energy metabolism and neurite outgrowth. In support of the importance of these processes in schizophrenia, mice that have reduced levels or completely lack proteins that control glutamatergic neurotransmission, neuronal migration, cell adherence, signal transduction, neurite outgrowth and synaptic plasticity display many features reminiscent of schizophrenia. In the present review, we discuss strategies for modelling schizophrenia that involve treating mice that bear these mutations in a variety of ways to better model both environmental and genetic factors responsible for this complex mental illness according to a "two-hit hypothesis. " Because rodents are able to perform complex cognitive tasks using odour but not visual or auditory cues, we hypothesize that olfactory-based tests of cognitive performance should be used to search for novel therapeutics that ameliorate the cognitive deficits that are a feature of this devastating mental disorder.
A Model for Online Support in Classroom Management: Perceptions of Beginning Teachers.

Classroom management is a challenge for beginning teachers. To address this challenge, a model to provide support for beginning teachers was developed, consisting of a one-day workshop on classroom management, followed with online support extending over eight weeks. Specific classroom management strategies included (a) developing a foundation based on relationships; (b) preventing disruptions with procedures and routines; (c) responding to disruptions and rule violations; (d) providing inclusion for students with special needs; and (e) resolving extreme or continuing conflicts. Participants in the study were beginning teachers at both the elementary and secondary levels. After completing the classroom management workshop, teachers reviewed online video clips of strategies they had learned, applied the strategies in their respective classrooms, and engaged in online discussions of the results obtained. Researchers conducted a qualitative assessment of the discussion entries posted by the new teachers to determine the strategies employed, emerging themes, and the results obtained. Participants successfully employed classroom management strategies and reported generally positive results. Additional research is needed with a larger number of participating teachers.
Humans Rapidly Estimate Expected Gain in Movement Planning

We studied human movement planning in tasks in which subjects selected one of two goals that differed in expected gain. Each goal configuration consisted of a target circle and a partially overlapping penalty circle. Rapid hits into the target region led to a monetary bonus; accidental hits into the penalty region incurred a penalty. The outcomes assigned to target and penalty regions and the spatial arrangement of those regions were varied. Subjects preferred configurations with higher expected gain whether selection involved a rapid pointing movement or a choice by key press. Movements executed to select one of two goal configurations exhibited the same movement dynamics as pointing movements directed at a single configuration, and were executed with the same high efficiency. Our results suggest that humans choose near-optimal strategies when planning their movement, and can base their selection of strategy on a rapid judgment about the expected gain associated with possible movement goals.