Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A New Feature along the Extended Blue Horizontal Branch of NGC 6752

In this Letter, we report on the detection of a new feature in the complex structure of the horizontal branch (HB) of the Galactic globular cluster NGC 6752. In the U versus (U-V)-plane, the HB shows a discontinuity ("jump") at U-V ≃ -1.0 (corresponding Teff ~ 23,000 K). This "second U-jump" adds to the u-jump identified by F. Grundahl et al. in a dozen clusters at Teff ~ 11,500 K. We show that this new discontinuity might be due to the combination of post-zero-age HB evolution and diffusion effects. We identify 11 asymptotic giant branch manqué stars. The comparison between post-HB star counts and evolutionary lifetimes, as predicted by canonical stellar models, shows good agreement, at variance with similar estimates for NGC 6752 available in the literature.
Approach toward flexible semantic E-business in Web Service Community

The automated integration of semantic Web service is one of the most promising approaches to building semantic e-business application on condition that business process's strategies or structure is dynamically changed. In this paper we discuss how to describe the semantic of Web service using OWL-S and make a capability matching based on semantic knowledge of both service's advertisements and business definition. We improve the capability matching algorithm by adding some constraints. Specifically we carry out the dynamic integration of Web service for e-business implementation in the circumstance of Web service community (WSC) we proposed.
Beyond Signaling and Human Capital: Education and the Revelation of Ability. NBER Working Paper No. 13951.

We provide evidence that graduating from college plays a direct role in revealing ability to the labor market. Using the NLSY79, our results suggest that ability is observed nearly perfectly for college graduates. In contrast, returns to AFQT for high school graduates are initially very close to zero and rise steeply with experience. As a result, from the very beginning of their careers, college graduates are paid in accordance with their own ability, while the wages of high school graduates are initially unrelated to their own ability. This view of ability revelation in the labor market has considerable power in explaining racial differences in wages, education, and the returns to ability.
Effective face recognition using bag of features with additive kernels

Abstract. In past decades, many techniques have been used to improve face recognition performance. The most common and well-studied ways are to use the whole face image to build a subspace based on the reduction of dimensionality. Differing from methods above, we consider face recognition as an image classification problem. The face images of the same person are considered to fall into the same category. Each category and each face image could be both represented by a simple pyramid histogram. Spatial dense scale-invariant feature transform features and bag of features method are used to build categories and face representations. In an effort to make the method more efficient, a linear support vector machine solver, Pegasos, is used for the classification in the kernel space with additive kernels instead of nonlinear SVMs. Our experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve very high recognition accuracy on the ORL, YALE, and FERET databases.
Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience in Disinhibitory Psychopathology : Summary and Integration

The chapters in this section address a large group of behaviors including psychopathological syndromes, trait dimensions, and a variety of specific deficits. Examples perspective taking. Historically, disinhibitory behavior has been ascribed to willful misbehavior and debate continues with respect to the legitimacy of regarding disinhibitory syndromes as psychopathology For many, establishing a link between biologically-based dysfunction and maladaptive behavior is the sine qua non of psychopathology (Wakefield, 1992). Progress in cognitive and affective neuroscience has made it increasingly compelling to posit psychobiological mechanisms for disinhibitory psychopathology. Such research may eventually clarify the reasons why some individuals chronically engage in behavior that has negative consequences for themselves and others. It may also clarify the processes associated with disinhibited behavior that reflect primarily situational influences as opposed to trait characteristics. The present chapters advance an assortment of potential psychobiological mechanisms and provide a foundation for such progress. From this perspective, the field of disinhibitory psychopathology appears poised for rapid progress. Rather than a lack of plausible psychobiological models, the challenge presented by the present chapters concerns differentiating the various psychobiological mechanisms, clarifying their relation to specific forms of disinhibitory psychopathology, and identifying methods for evaluating the putative associations. In order to organize the rapidly growing evidence, contrast the proposed mechanisms, and generate alternative hypotheses regarding their significance for diverse forms of disinhibitory psychopathology, it is useful to adopt a common conceptual framework for the various syndromes and explanatory mechanisms. Toward this end, we describe a general model of self-regulation that is, at once, broad enough to accommodate diverse symptoms and mechanisms and specific enough to distinguish among them. After outlining the conceptual framework, we review the psychobiological mechanisms presented in this section and discuss their implications for disinhibitory psychopathology. Moreover, we discuss the implications of this integration for addressing past problems and advancing future research. Integrative framework In this segment, we present a broad framework for conceptualizing the core features of disinhibitory psychopathology. integrating construct of the framework involves self-regulation which the authors define as the context-appropriate balance of attention to dominant and non-dominant cues (CABA). Though often categorized as a cognitive variable, we view attention as a " top-down " self-regulatory mechanism capable of enhancing appropriate cognitions, emotions, or behaviors and suppressing inappropriate cognitions, emotions, or behaviors. While recognizing that there are important differences between the regulation of emotion, cognition, and behavior, our view is that selective attention represents a common …
URBAN EDUCATION AND EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY: THE CASE FOR A CULTURALLY PRAGMATIC APPROACH TO EDUCATION IN URBAN SCHOOLS

Black American students continue to lag behind White Americans in measures of academic achievement. In this thesis, I make the case that the achievement gap and lack of social mobility faced by African American students can be attributed to the fact that urban schools have not set the conditions for equality of opportunity. I argue that the crux of the problem is mainly cultural; specifically, that the home culture of students is not utilized in the classroom, nor is the dominant culture explicitly taught in order to impart priceless cultural capital. To get closer to achieving equality of opportunity, I am proposing an approach I call “culturally pragmatic education. ” This approach brings the home culture of students into the classroom and also incorporates cultural capital into the curriculum; thereby allowing students to maintain cultural integrity, while at the same time acquiring the cultural tools needed for success in mainstream society.
STANDING WAVE PATTERNS AT LIQUID NITROGEN CALIBRATION OF MICROWAVE RADIOMETERS

A standard method for the absolute calibration of passive microwave radiometers is the hot-coldcalibration where two blackbody calibration targets with different physical temperatures are used. Usually, a liquid nitrogen ( LN2) target with a wellknown boiling temperature provides the cold calibration point. In the standard calibration procedure for a ground-based passive microwave radiometer (HATPRO), the integration time on each target is 30–60 seconds. However, when observing the cold target for a longer time, an oscillation of the incoming power signal with a period of 2–20 minutes is detected. This period is linearly correlated with the microwave wavelength indicating a standing wave between the receiver and theLN2 surface. The amplitude of this oscillation corresponds to a brightness temperature range of up to 1.5 K which can lead to an error in the retrieved integrated water vapor of up to 1 kgm. In order to consider this effect it is necessary to integrate over one whole oscillation cycle and taking the mean value as the reference power which corresponds to the boiling temperature of liquid nitrogen.
Insuring College Failure Risk

Participants in student loan programs must repay loans in full regardless of whether they complete college. But many students who take out a loan do not earn a degree (the dropout rate among college students is between 33 to 50 percent). The authors examine whether insurance against college-failure risk can be offered, taking into account moral hazard and adverse selection. To do so, they developed a model that accounts for college enrollment, dropout, and completion rates among new high school graduates in the US and use that model to study the feasibility and optimality of offering insurance against college-failure risk. The authors find that optimal insurance raises the enrollment rate by 3.5 percent, the fraction acquiring a degree by 3.8 percent and welfare by 2.7 percent. These effects are more pronounced for students with low scholastic ability (the ones with high failure probability).
Epsilonproteobacteria Represent the Major Portion of Chemoautotrophic Bacteria in Sulfidic Waters of Pelagic Redoxclines of the Baltic and Black Seas

ABSTRACT Recent studies have indicated that chemoautotrophic Epsilonproteobacteria might play an important role, especially as anaerobic or microaerophilic dark CO2-fixing organisms, in marine pelagic redoxclines. However, knowledge of their distribution and abundance as actively CO2-fixing microorganisms in pelagic redoxclines is still deficient. We determined the contribution of Epsilonproteobacteria to dark CO2 fixation in the sulfidic areas of central Baltic Sea and Black Sea redoxclines by combining catalyzed reporter deposition-fluorescence in situ hybridization with microautoradiography using [14C]bicarbonate and compared it to the total prokaryotic chemoautotrophic activity. In absolute numbers, up to 3 × 10514CO2-fixing prokaryotic cells ml−1 were enumerated in the redoxcline of the central Baltic Sea and up to 9 × 10414CO2-fixing cells ml−1 were enumerated in the Black Sea redoxcline, corresponding to 29% and 12%, respectively, of total cell abundance. 14CO2-incorporating cells belonged exclusively to the domain Bacteria. Among these, members of the Epsilonproteobacteria were approximately 70% of the cells in the central Baltic Sea and up to 100% in the Black Sea. For the Baltic Sea, the Sulfurimonas subgroup GD17, previously assumed to be involved in autotrophic denitrification, was the most dominant CO2-fixing group. In conclusion, Epsilonproteobacteria were found to be mainly responsible for chemoautotrophic activity in the dark CO2 fixation maxima of the Black Sea and central Baltic Sea redoxclines. These Epsilonproteobacteria might be relevant in similar habitats of the world's oceans, where high dark CO2 fixation rates have been measured.
Handedness and Child Development

Left-handedness is historically associated with poorer outcomes for adults. Yet recent work has suggested that there may be positive labour market returns for left-handed males. This paper examines whether handedness is also associated with poorer outcomes for children and whether this differs by genders. The paper examines a wide set of outcomes for children as they age from 42 months to 14 years. We find the main penalty is not from being left-handed, but is from not having a dominant hand early in life. This penalty is larger for girls than boys by age 14, indicating that early deficits of non-right handed boys appear to fall as they age. For girls, being left-handed and especially mixed-handed at early ages is associated with persistent cognitive attainment deficits, mainly focused at the lower end of the ability distribution.
Retirement Timing and Social Stratification: A Comparative Study of Labor Market Exit and Age Norms in Western Europe

The goal of this dissertation is to enhance our understanding of the micro and macro level determinants of retirement timing in contemporary Western Europe. This objective is pursued by means of a statistical analysis of large-scale comparable survey data. In short, three points of emphasis characterize this study in comparison with previous research on the topic: 1) the focus on social stratification in terms of gender and class differentials; 2) the central attention paid to social norms of aging; and 3) the joint consideration of individual and country level mechanisms in explaining retirement timing. The review of the previous literature in the second chapter demonstrates that the currently available theoretical approaches by themselves are inappropriate for explaining social variability in retirement timing. Building on the life course paradigm and social class theory, I consequently outline a novel analytical framework for the study of differential retirement behavior. It can be characterized as a choice-within-constraints approach (chapter 3), which essentially focuses on differences between older workers in age norms and late-career opportunity structures, paying special attention on class and gender disparities. In the fourth chapter, I gather empirical evidence on international and individual differences in retirement age norms in Western Europe on the basis of data from the European Social Survey (ESS). Subsequently, I turn to examining actual retirement behavior in the fifth chapter. Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) a series of event-history models is used to scrutinize the determining factors of retirement timing at the country and individual level variation. In chapters 6 and 7, two case studies on Germany and Spain examine the impact of pension legislation on social stratification in retirement in a detailed manner. The two country studies are based on ad-hoc module on the transition from work into retirement, which has been implemented in the respective national labor force surveys (Encuesta de la Poblacion Activa (EPA) and Mikrozensus) of 2006. Jury: Martin Kohli (EUI) (Supervisor), Fabrizio Bernardi, (EUI) (Co-Supervisor), Hans-Peter Blossfeld (Otto Friedrich University, Bamberg), Bernhard Ebbinghaus, (University of Mannheim)
Incorporating EFL websites in class: Bangladeshi teachers’ perceptions

Incorporating Information-Technology in classes is revolutionizing English language teaching (ELT) practices. Since teachers are the key personnel, their attitudes towards the process determine its success. This study presents the results of a study investigating Bangladeshi university level English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ perceptions of incorporating EFL websites in their classes. The findings revealed that private university teachers’ have more positive attitude than public university teachers do. In addition, both private and public university teachers reported of logistic limitations and systematic complications in their respective institutions. Following this, the study proposes enhancing administrative collaborations, arranging teacher-student skill development programmes, and creating customized websites for Bangladeshi ELT contexts.
Indicators of Acute and Persistent Renal Damage in Adult Thrombotic Microangiopathy

Background Thrombotic microangiopathies (TMA) in adults such as thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) are life-threatening disorders if untreated. Clinical presentation is highly variable and prognostic factors for clinical course and outcome are not well established. Methods We performed a retrospective observational study of 62 patients with TMA, 22 males and 40 females aged 16 to 76 years, treated with plasma exchange at one center to identify clinical risk factors for the development of renal insufficiency. Results On admission, 39 of 62 patients (63%) had acute renal failure (ARF) with 32 patients (52%) requiring dialysis treatment. High systolic arterial pressure (SAP, p = 0.009) or mean arterial pressure (MAP, p = 0.027) on admission was associated with acute renal failure. Patients with SAP>140 mmHg on admission had a sevenfold increased risk of severe kidney disease (OR 7.464, CI 2.097–26.565). MAP>100 mmHg indicated a fourfold increased risk for acute renal failure (OR 4.261, CI 1.400–12.972). High SAP, diastolic arterial pressure (DAP), and MAP on admission were also independent risk factors for persistent renal insufficiency with the strongest correlation for high MAP. Moreover, a high C-reactive protein (CRP) level on admission correlated with renal failure in the course of the disease (p = 0.003). At discharge, renal function in 11 of 39 patients (28%) had fully recovered, 14 patients (23%) remained on dialysis, and 14 patients (23%) had non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease. Seven patients (11%) died. We identified an older age as risk factor for death. Conclusions High blood pressure as well as high CRP serum levels on admission are associated with renal insufficiency in TMA. High blood pressure on admission is also a strong predictor of sustained renal insufficiency. Thus, adult TMA patients with high blood pressure may require special attention to prevent persistent renal failure.
Vegetation Indices to Aid Areal Evapotranspiration Estimations

Multiyear (1982–1990) monthly areal evapotranspiration (AET) was modeled with the Morton approach at the Solar and Meteorological Surface Observation Network stations within the conterminous United States. The AET values were correlated with satellite-derived, monthly maximum-value-composited Normalized Difference Vegetation Indices (NDVI) at half-degree resolution over the growing season (April–October). Generally, the strongest monthly correlation was obtained when the NDVI values were related to the AET estimates of the previous month. Geographically, both the monthly and growing-season averaged NDVI-AET relationships were best over the prairie (with an r=0.66±0.21 and 0.55±0.22, and a RMSE=26.75±12.62 and 6.24±1.67 mmmonth-1, respectively) and worst along the coastline and in the most humid, southeast region of the conterminous United States, where the Morton approach may function improperly.
Determinants of voluntary IFRS adoption in an emerging market: Evidence from Turkey

The European Commission has required the adoption of IFRS in order to harmonize financial reporting standards for European listed companies as of 1 January 2005. Adoption of IFRS by European Union has made IFRS the most widely accepted financial reporting standards in the world. Turkey, having close economic and political ties with the European Union, has followed the same path. Turkish firms listed on the Borsa Istanbul (stock exchange of Turkey) started to adopt financial reporting standards in compliance with IFRS voluntarily in 2003 and mandatorily in 2005. This study aims to examine empirically the determinants of voluntary IFRS adoption of listed firms in Turkey. This study reports on the results of an empirical investigation of the determinants of voluntary IFRS adoption by 206 non-financial firms listed on the Borsa Istanbul. Analyzing the determinants of voluntary IFRS adoption by Turkish listed firms during the transition period, we find that size, international exposure, and type of auditor are important drivers
Differential Privacy with Bounded Priors: Reconciling Utility and Privacy in Genome-Wide Association Studies

Differential privacy (DP) has become widely accepted as a rigorous definition of data privacy, with stronger privacy guarantees than traditional statistical methods. However, recent studies have shown that for reasonable privacy budgets, differential privacy significantly affects the expected utility. Many alternative privacy notions which aim at relaxing DP have since been proposed, with the hope of providing a better tradeoff between privacy and utility. At CCS'13, Li et al. introduced the membership privacy framework, wherein they aim at protecting against set membership disclosure by adversaries whose prior knowledge is captured by a family of probability distributions. In the context of this framework, we investigate a relaxation of DP, by considering prior distributions that capture more reasonable amounts of background knowledge. We show that for different privacy budgets, DP can be used to achieve membership privacy for various adversarial settings, thus leading to an interesting tradeoff between privacy guarantees and utility. We re-evaluate methods for releasing differentially private chi2-statistics in genome-wide association studies and show that we can achieve a higher utility than in previous works, while still guaranteeing membership privacy in a relevant adversarial setting.
Apical, Lateral, and Basal Polarization Cues Contribute to the Development of the Follicular Epithelium during Drosophila Oogenesis

Analysis of the mechanisms that control epithelial polarization has revealed that cues for polarization are mediated by transmembrane proteins that operate at the apical, lateral, or basal surface of epithelial cells. Whereas for any given epithelial cell type only one or two polarization systems have been identified to date, we report here that the follicular epithelium in Drosophila ovaries uses three different polarization mechanisms, each operating at one of the three main epithelial surface domains. The follicular epithelium arises through a mesenchymal–epithelial transition. Contact with the basement membrane provides an initial polarization cue that leads to the formation of a basal membrane domain. Moreover, we use mosaic analysis to show that Crumbs (Crb) is required for the formation and maintenance of the follicular epithelium. Crb localizes to the apical membrane of follicle cells that is in contact with germline cells. Contact to the germline is required for the accumulation of Crb in follicle cells. Discs Lost (Dlt), a cytoplasmic PDZ domain protein that was shown to interact with the cytoplasmic tail of Crb, overlaps precisely in its distribution with Crb, as shown by immunoelectron microscopy. Crb localization depends on Dlt, whereas Dlt uses Crb-dependent and -independent mechanisms for apical targeting. Finally, we show that the cadherin–catenin complex is not required for the formation of the follicular epithelium, but only for its maintenance. Loss of cadherin-based adherens junctions caused by armadillo (β-catenin) mutations results in a disruption of the lateral spectrin and actin cytoskeleton. Also Crb and the apical spectrin cytoskeleton are lost from armadillo mutant follicle cells. Together with previous data showing that Crb is required for the formation of a zonula adherens, these findings indicate a mutual dependency of apical and lateral polarization mechanisms.