Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Cost Model for Selecting Checkpoint Positions in Time Warp Parallel Simulation

Recent papers have shown that the performance of Time Warp simulators can be improved by appropriately selecting the positions of checkpoints, instead of taking them on a periodic basis. In this paper, we present a checkpointing technique in which the selection of the positions of checkpoints is based on a checkpointing-recovery cost model. Given the current state S, the model determines the convenience of recording S as a checkpoint before the next event is executed. This is done by taking into account the position of the last taken checkpoint, the granularity (i.e., the execution time) of intermediate events, and using an estimate of the probability that S will have to be restored due to rollback in the future of the execution. A synthetic benchmark in different configurations is used for evaluating and comparing this approach to classical periodic techniques. As a testing environment we used a cluster of PCs connected through a Myrinet switch coupled with a fast communication layer specifically designed to exploit the potential of this type of switch. The obtained results point out that our solution allows faster execution and, in some cases, exhibits the additional advantage that less memory is required for recording state vectors. This possibly contributes to further performance improvements when memory is a critical resource for the specific application. A performance study for the case of a cellular phone system simulation is finally reported to demonstrate the effectiveness of this solution for a real world application.
Research Paper Series Globalisation and Labour Markets Programme on Adjustment Costs the Centre Acknowledges Financial Support from the Leverhulme Trust under Programme Grant F114/bf on Adjustment Costs

Acknowledgements We thank Spiros Bougheas, Rodney Falvey and David Greenaway for their insightful comments on earlier drafts. Abstract In this paper we present and analyze a general equilibrium model of trade with labor market turnover in order to estimate the size and scope of adjustment costs that are associated with trade reform. The novel feature of our approach is that the training and job acquisition processes are modeled and the costs associated with them are taken into account. One of the advantages of the model is that it is simple enough to allow us to solve analytically for the adjustment path between steady states. Another advantage is that many of the model's key parameters, the labor market turnover rates, are observable, so that we can rely on existing data to determine their likely values. Surprisingly, even with our most modest assumption concerning training costs, we find that their inclusion in the model significantly increases our estimates of aggregate adjustment costs. For example, we find that when we take the time cost of retraining into account our estimate is that the short run adjustment costs amount to (at least) 10 to 15 percent of the long run benefits from liberalization. When the resource costs of retraining are taken into account as well, our estimates of these costs jump to 30 to 90 percent of the long run gains from freer trade. These results sharply contrast with earlier estimates of adjustment costs (which ignored the costs of job search and training) that indicated that they were likely to be small relative to the gains from trade.
Normal testes asymmetry evaluated by apparent diffusion coefficient and magnetization transfer ratio

Background In humans, the left testis generally hangs lower than the right and the right is larger than the left. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) represents an important adjuvant modality in the investigation of testicular diseases. Purpose To assess if normal testes asymmetry is related to apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and magnetization transfer ratio (MTR). Material and Methods The normal testes from 106 men were included. Testicular volume (TV) was calculated by using the ellipsoid formula: length × width × height × 0.52. Diffusion-weighted imaging was performed using a SS EPI diffusion pulse sequence and b-values of 0 and 900 s/mm−2. Magnetization transfer imaging was obtained using a 3D GRE sequence both with and without an off-resonance radiofrequency pulse. MTR maps were obtained by the following formula: (SIo–SIm) / (SIo) × 100%, where SIo and SIm represent the signal intensity in the baseline image and that in the corresponding image acquired with an off-resonance MT pulse, respectively. The mean and standard deviation of testicular volume (TV), ADC, and MTR of both testes was calculated and compared using a paired sample t-test. Results The mean TV (mL) was greater (P = 0.006) for the right testis (16.77 ± 4.84) compared to the left (15.97 ± 4.45). ADC of the right testis (1.09 ± 0.12 × 10 − 3 mm2 s−1) was not different (P = 0.064) from that of the left testis (1.07 ± 0.12 × 10−3 mm2 s−1). Differences (P = 0.032) were observed between MTR of the right (46.6 ± 2.1%) and left testis (46.0 ± 2.2%). Conclusion The reported differences in paired testes size was confirmed, introducing a possible relationship with structural and functional asymmetry of normal testes, based on MTR.
The level of cardiovascular risk factors in bipolar disorder equals that of schizophrenia: a comparative study.

OBJECTIVE In schizophrenia, increased rates of somatic mortality have been shown to correspond with a high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, including smoking and the metabolic syndrome. In bipolar disorder, the amount of cardiovascular risk is still largely unknown. This study compares the prevalence of smoking and metabolic disturbances in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in a representative sample of patients under naturalistic conditions. It also compares the prevalence of risk factors in each diagnostic group with the general population. METHOD Longitudinal data on clinical groups from October 2002 through December 2005 were from the Oslo TOP Study (DSM-IV bipolar disorder [N = 110] and schizophrenia [N = 163]). Reference data were from the 2000 to 2001 Oslo Health Study (18,770 individuals of the same area). Background variables, prevalence of smoking, and age-adjusted levels of metabolic risk factors were compared between diagnostic groups. Risk factors in both groups were then compared with the general population. RESULTS Patients with bipolar disorder had higher levels of education, better social functioning, fewer psychiatric symptoms, and less use of medication than patients with schizophrenia. There was no significant difference between diagnostic groups in the prevalence of smoking, obesity, metabolic syndrome, or diabetes. The mean level of high density lipoprotein cholesterol was lower in schizophrenia (p < .001), and systolic blood pressure was higher in bipolar disorder (p < .05). Both diagnostic groups had a prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors about twice that of the general population. CONCLUSION The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors was alarmingly high for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia patients compared with the general population, and the prevalence was approximately the same in both diagnostic groups.
Race Effects on the Employee Engagement-Turnover Intention Relationship

In this paper we review extant research findings on employee engagement. We then outline and test potential differences in the relationship between engagement and intent to remain with the organization, based upon variations in the racial composition of the supervisor-employee dyad. Our analyses revealed an interaction whereby at low levels of engagement, members of different-race dyads report a lower tendency to remain with their organization for at least one year than members of same-race dyads; at high levels of engagement, intent to remain was greater for members of different-race dyads. We discuss implications of our findings for organizational practice and research.
Explaining the Assigned Goal-Incentive Interaction: The Role of Self-Efficacy and Personal Goals

This study was designed to replicate conceptually and to explain the goal-level vs. incentive-type interaction reported by Mowen, Middlemist, and Luther (1981) based on goal setting and social cognitive theories. Mowen et al. found that subjects performed more poorly with hard goals than medium goals under a bonus pay system, the opposite of what was found for a piece-rate system. In the present study, an hourly pay condition was added. Mowen et al.‘s interaction was replicated using a two-trial design in which subjects could obtain feedback about their ability to attain the incentive bonuses between trials. The experimental effects were completely mediated by personal goals and self-efficacy. Goal commitment was related to performance, but did not mediate the experimental conditions. The implications for the design of incentive systems are discussed.
Using Cytochrome P-450 Gene Knock-Out Mice to Study Chemical Metabolism, Toxicity, and Carcinogenicity

Cytochrome P-450 (CYP) enzymes are heme-containing proteins that carry out oxidative metabolism of a wide range of structurally diverse exogenous chemicals and therapeutic agents as well as endogenous compounds. For some of these xenobiotics, oxidative metabolism results in the formation of toxic, mutagenic, or carcinogenic metabolites. In the past, the role of CYP enzymes in metabolism and chemical-induced toxicity was studied indirectly through use of specific antibodies or inducers and inhibitors of these enzymes. Progress in molecular biology and the ability to bioengineer animal models that do not express CYP1A2, CYP1A1, CYP1B1, CYP2E1, or both CYP1A2 and CYP2E1 isozymes has allowed for direct investigations of the in vivo role of these enzymes in the metabolism, toxicity, and carcinogenicity of xenobiotics. This article reviews research conducted to date that utilizes these genetically bioengineered mice in metabolism, toxicity, or carcinogenicity studies of chemicals. Some studies showed a positive correlation between in vivo results and in vitro predictions for the role of a specific CYP in chemical-induced effects, whereas other studies did not support in vitro predictions. Work reviewed herein demonstrates the importance of using animal models for investigating the role of specific CYP enzymes in metabolism and chemical-induced toxicity or carcinogenicity rather than relying solely on in vitro techniques. Eventually, studies of this nature will facilitate a more accurate assessment of human risks with regard to chemicals by helping us to understand the relationships between chemical metabolism, carcinogenicity, and polymorphisms in CYP enzymes.
Nuclear matrix protein expressions in hepatocytes of normal and cirrhotic rat livers under normal and regenerating conditions

We explored the feasibility of studying nuclear matrix protein (NMP) expressions of the hepatocytes in normal and cirrhotic rat livers with liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy. Sixteen Wistar healthy rats were studied with experimental liver regeneration and/or liver cirrhosis. Two‐dimensional (2‐D) gel electrophoresis was used to generate these NMP compositions from these rat liver samples. Several antibodies against cytokeratin, vimentin, actin, B23, HNF4alpha, and heat shock protein 70 were used for identification by Western blot. Totally, 41 strongly stained protein spots were characterized on the 2‐D gels. Thirty‐four protein spots were detected in all of these rat livers, of which, cytokeratin, vimentin, actin, HNF4alpha, and heat shock protein 70 were identified. B23 was detected in the regenerated livers. Three protein spots (s33, s34, and s35) were detectable only in NMP preparation extracted from the regenerating rat livers after hepatectomy. Another three protein spots (s36, s37, and s38) were detectable only in NMP preparation extracted from thioacetamide‐induced cirrhotic rat livers. Under these conditions including experimental liver regeneration and/or liver cirrhosis, Over thirty higher abundance NMPs of hepatocytes were consistently expressed and considered as common and basic NMPs. Some of the NMPs are specific for liver regeneration and may play a critical role in cell proliferation and cell cycle, and some are specific for liver cirrhosis. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Prevalence of underweight, overweight, general and central obesity among 8-15-years old Bulgarian children and adolescents (Smolyan region, 2012-2014).

OBJECTIVE The objective of this work is to investigate the distribution of underweight, overweight, the general and central obesity in 8-15-year-old Bulgarian children and adolescents, through the use of the anthropometric indices BMI and WHtR. MATERIALS AND METHODS Subject of this study are 878 children and adolescents (437 boys and 441 girls) of Smolyan region, Bulgaria, at the age of 8 to 15 years. The study is cross-sectional and was conducted in the period 2012-2014. The body height, weight and waist circumference were measured. In addition, the body mass index (BMI) and waist to height ratio (WHtR) were calculated. Overweight and obesity were defined according to the cut-off points of BMI, recommended of IOTF and developed by Cole et al. (2000; 2007). The central obesity was defined according to the discriminatory values of 0.500 of WHtR. The collected data were analysed by statistical software packages STATISTICA 10.0 and SPSS 16. RESULTS Overweight occurs among 18.8% of the boys and 17.0% of the girls, and obesity occurs among 7.6% of boys and 3.7% of the girls. The underweight are 8.0% of the boys and 10.4% of the girls. Central obesity (WHtR ≥ 0.500) occur among average 12.75% of all investigated children independently of their nutritional status (16.2% of boys and 9.3% of girls). With central obesity (WHtR ≥ 0.500) are on average 2.7% of all boys and girls with normal weight (n = 96) and an average 46.82% of all participants with overweight and with obesity (n = 205). With increased health risk (WHtR ≥ 0.500) are total of 2.01% (n=16) of all surveyed children (n = 793) from categories normal weight. CONCLUSION There has been an increase in prevalence of overweight and obesity among Bulgarian children and adolescents from Smolyan region during the over one last decade. The relatively high percentage of underweight children, especially among in group of the girls alter puberty. The central obesity, as well as its combination with overweight or general obesity is more frequent in boys than in girls.
Real-time Measure of Analyst Beliefs

We thank seminar participants at the University of Michigan and Arizona State University whose comments greatly improved the paper's ideas and exposition. We also thank Justin Lahart for publishing an article in The Wall Street Journal print edition based on an earlier version of this paper. Abstract Traders' beliefs are the central cognitive link on the revealed preference path from information to trading activities and price. We reconstruct this path explicitly by conjecturing that the tone of the analyst discussion in earnings conferences calls reveals in real time the analyst beliefs in response to new information just disclosed by management. Over a two-day period, a one standard deviation increase in analyst tone is associated with a 0.8 percent point increase in abnormal returns, and a significant increase in institutional net buys. Our measure of analyst beliefs is distinct from other information factors. Textual analysis therefore can be used not just to uncover information released by management, but also the resulting beliefs of capital market participants in real time.
Holography with Gravitational Chern-Simons

The holographic description in the presence of gravitational Chern-Simons term is studied. The modified gravitational equations are integrated by using the FeffermanGraham expansion and the holographic stress-energy tensor is identified. The stressenergy tensor has both conformal anomaly and gravitational or, if re-formulated in terms of the zweibein, Lorentz anomaly. We comment on the structure of anomalies in two dimensions and show that the two-dimensional stress-energy tensor can be reproduced by integrating the conformal and gravitational anomalies. We study the black hole entropy in theories with gravitational Chern-Simons and find that the usual Bekenstein-Hawking entropy is modified. For the BTZ black hole the modification is determined by area of the inner horizon. We show that the total entropy of BTZ black hole is precisely reproduced in a boundary CFT calculation using the Cardy formula. 1 s.solodukhin@iu-bremen.de
Contingency Management Reduces Symptoms of Psychological and Emotional Distress among Homeless, Substance-dependent Men Who Have Sex with Men.

BACKGROUND This prospective analysis evaluated the efficacy of a contingency management (CM) intervention to improve the psychological health of non-treatment seeking, homeless, substance-dependent, men who have sex with men in Los Angeles. It was hypothesized that administration of CM would be associated with reductions in participants' symptoms of psychological and emotional distress. METHODS One hundred and thirty-one participants were randomized into either a voucher-based contingency management (CM; n = 64) condition reinforcing substance abstinence and prosocial/health-promoting behaviors, or to a control condition (n = 67). Participants' symptoms of psychological and emotional distress were assessed at intake and at 12-months post-randomization. RESULTS Participants randomized into the CM intervention exhibited significantly lower levels of psychological distress in all measured symptom domains up to one year post randomization, reductions not evidenced in the control arm. Omnibus tests resultant from seemingly unrelated regression analysis confirmed that CM was significantly associated with reductions in symptoms of psychological and emotional distress, even when controlling for biomarker-confirmed substance use outcomes (χ2(9) = 17.26; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Findings demonstrate that a CM intervention reduced symptoms of psychological and emotional distress among a sample of non-treatment seeking, homeless, substance-dependent men who have sex with men.
Toward an "Intent" Model of Conflict Management Among Principal Parties

The paper notes the relative neglect, within the conflict literature, of conflict management activities by the principal parties themselves. In part, this is asserted to reflect the legacy of behaviorism and experimental gaming. The authors lay a groundwork for a theory of conflict management activities among principal parties by examining the role of attributed intent within conflict episodes. A literature review indicates that attribution of other party's intent is a central activity in conflict episodes, and that these attributions play a crucial mediating role in shaping each party's reactions to the other's behavior-specifically mediating hostility and retaliation. The authors also present attributional data from executives which indicate that there are strong biases in the perception of intent-namely that individuals tend to see themselves as cooperative and reasonable, but attribute competitiveness and unreasonableness to the other party. Given their importance and ambiguity, attributions of intent are asserted to be central targets of conflict parties, each party acting both as observer to discern the other's intent, and as actor to manage the other's impressions of his intent. Elements of an "intent" model of conflict management among principal parties are discussed, including the activities of actor and observer, biases, and the importance of time lag in the effectiveness of conflict management activities.
Adolescent Girls’ Involvement in Disability Sport: Implications for Identity Development

The social institution of sport reflects a society that presupposes the values, mores, norms, and standards of the majority and subsequently determines who can participate in sport and who can be identified as an athlete. Recognizing the growing importance of disability sport to people with disabilities, the purpose of this study was to use the construct of symbolic interactionism to examine the identity development of adolescent girls with physical disabilities who participate in organized wheelchair sports with a specific focus on athletic identity development. An understanding of how the girls’ interaction with various socializing agents through a wheelchair sport program to develop an athletic identity was developed through interviews. Results are presented utilizing Keliber’s framework for identity development through leisure participation, including sport.
Levodopa increases functional connectivity in the cerebellum and brainstem in Parkinson's disease.

ARTICLE Sir, we would like to comment on a recent article published in Brain by Hacker et al. (2012), which reported functional connectivity alteration in 13 patients with Parkinson’s disease in the medicated state compared with healthy control subjects. Although the authors showed very interesting results, they could not disentangle the effects of levodopa within the patient group. We investigated the influence of dopaminergic medication on patients with Parkinson’s disease in an intra-individual design based on functional connectivity derived from resting state functional MRI. We used a model-free and data-driven approach with eigenvector centrality mapping (Lohmann et al. , 2010)—an algorithm similar to Google’s PageRank routine. The method automatically detects all brain areas serving as communication hubs, which—unlike other areas—have greater connectivity with many other parts of the brain. Hence, as distinct from previously used methods, this approach is unbiased by manual selection of the seed regions and thereby independent of the expert’s decision. Using the eigenvector centrality analysis we found, concurrently with Hacker et al. (2012), …
The integrative value of myocardial perfusion-function imaging with 13N-ammonia positron emission tomography : From methodology to clinical impact

The current profile of cardiovascular disease is a source of concern due to its prevalence and the substantial burden of its associated outcomes. Although advances in cardiac therapy represent a great contribution in this area, there is a need for better and more integral methods to diagnose and evaluate prognosis in patients with heart disease. Within these novel state-of-the-art methods, the present thesis studied the utilization of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging using 13N-ammonia (an injectable tracer that allows us to picture blood flow in the coronary arteries). By exploring alternatives in methodological aspects of this technique as well as how blood flow and heart motion relate to each other in different groups of patients, we propose that further integration of clinical data and data obtained through PET should be considered when characterizing heart disease. We confirmed the relevant influence of diabetes mellitus as a risk factor that affects not only heart blood flow but heart motion as well. In the near future, the combination of measurements obtained by cardiac PET imaging may optimize risk stratification as they already translate an elevated risk of fatal outcomes individually.