Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
What a local sample of spectroscopic binaries can tell us about the field binary population.

We study a volume-limited sample of spectroscopic binaries (SBs) to find, in absolute terms, the period P, primary mass m1, and mass ratio q (=m2/m1) distributions of the local population of field binaries. The sample was collated using the Batten 8th catalogue of SBs, other data of R F Griffin, and the Hipparcos catalogue (for distances and to refer numbers of objects to fractions of the local stellar population as a whole). We use the better-known group of double-lined SBs (SB2s) to calibrate a refined Monte-Carlo approach to modelling the q distribution of the single-lined SBs (SB1s) from their mass function f(m) and primary mass m1. The total q distribution is then found by adding the observed SB2 q distribution to the Monte Carlo SB1 q distribution. By comparing subsamples of different ranges in parameter space, we also address the important questions of completeness and parameter-specific biases. Our results confirm a clear peak in the q distribution of field binaries near unity. We also note a substantial fraction of systems with intermediate to long periods. These are objects that will interact when the primary evolves onto the RGB or AGB, with statistically significant consequences for the mass distribution of white dwarfs.
Exploring Thai EFL University Students' Awareness of Their Knowledge, Use, and Control of Strategies in Reading and Writing

The purpose of this research was to conduct case studies to explore and describe Thai university students' awareness and application of cognitive and metacognitive strategies when reading and writing in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL). Four participants, including two high and two low English language proficiency learners, were selected from 14 students enrolled in a five-week course called English for Social Sciences offered at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand in 2005. The major sources of data for the analyses included the transcripts of the participants' pair discussions, think-aloud protocols, interviews, and daily journal entries. In addition, field work observations, reading and writing strategy checklists, participants' written work, and the comparison of the pretest and posttest results were also instrumental to the analyses. The interpretive approach of content analysis was employed for these four case studies. Findings were initially derived from the single-case analyses, and then from cross-case analyses. Major findings revealed that strategic knowledge enhanced these English-as-a-foreign- language (EFL) learners' proficiency in English reading and writing. However, applying elaborative strategies for higher-level reading was challenging for most of the participants. Two crucial factors that impeded their development were the learners' uncertain procedural and conditional knowledge of strategy uses and their limited English language proficiency due to limited exposure to the second language (L2). The teacher's explanations and modeling of strategies, the participants' opportunities to discuss strategy use with peers, and extensive practice positively enhanced their development. Additionally, the learners' schema and knowledge of text structures played significant roles in their development of the two skills. These English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners also developed metacognitive awareness and strategy applications, but not to the level that always enhanced effective regulation and control of their reading and writing behaviors. Combining reading and writing in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) instruction promoted the learners' awareness of the relationships of certain strategies for the two skills, and developed their literacy skills holistically.
Relationship between penalties for road traffic infringements and crash risk in Queensland, Australia: a case-crossover study.

BACKGROUND Most countries have detailed lists of traffic rules and elaborate legal regimes for penalizing drivers who break them. Previous research has suggested that drivers tend to drive more safely after receiving penalties for traffic infringements. METHODS We linked driver-level data on infringements and crashes in Queensland, Australia (1995-2010) with information on the licence histories of all drivers in the state. We used a case-crossover design to examine drivers' risk of crashing in the month following an infringement penalty. We also examined whether changes in crash risk following infringement penalties varied according to driver age and gender, type of infringement and whether the offender was at fault in a subsequent crash. RESULTS Drivers had higher risks of crashes following infringement penalties [odds ratio (OR) 1.32; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29-1.36], especially crashes in which the offender was at fault (1.41; 1.36-1.46). Crash risk relative to a comparable period was particularly high for teenage drivers (1.55; 1.34-1.78) and among drivers penalized for dangerous driving (3.19; 2.52-4.03) or driving under the influence of alcohol (1.99; 1.67-2.37). The risk remained relatively high for more than 6 months after the penalty, but declined steadily over this period. CONCLUSIONS Crash risk among drivers in Queensland was higher, not lower, following receipt of penalties for traffic infringements. Penalties themselves are unlikely to increase crash risk. A more likely explanation is that penalties (or the corresponding infringements) mark episodes of risky driving. Our findings suggest that such episodes trounce any deterrent effect penalties may produce.
A method for automatic tuner verification

This paper describes an automated procedure for verifying the characterization of mechanical tuners used in automated load-pull systems. Precise tuner characterization is critical for making accurate load-pull measurements, as small inaccuracies in the tuner S-parameters can lead to significant errors in measured results. A software routine was written to automate the tuner verification process by controlling a vector network analyzer and a tuner controller. The program is easy to use, customizable, quick, and low-cost to implement. Results are automatically summarized, describing the tuner’s S-parameter accuracy in terms of error vector magnitude (EVM). Example results are shown for tuners with accurate and inaccurate characterizations.
The relationship between phonological awareness and reading ability of Thai students in English and Thai in primary schools of Thailand

Title of dissertation: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS AND READING ABILITY OF THAI STUDENTS IN ENGLISH AND THAI IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS OF THAILAND Youfu Wei, Doctor of Philosophy, 2005 Dissertation directed by: Professor Dr. Rebecca L. Oxford Department of Curriculum and Instruction Reading is the most fundamental skill in modern societies and acquiring the ability to read is one of the most important goals of the early school years. In addition, reading English as a foreign language is important not only for academic success but also for professional development. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between phonological awareness and reading ability in English and Thai of primary school Thai students in their native country. Furthermore, I investigated whether there is any transfer of phonological awareness from Thai to English among primary school Thai students. Participants were 424 Thai primary school students in nine provinces in the Lower Northern part of Thailand. Measures administered in both English and in Thai included phonological awareness (subtests for Initial Sound Detection, Final Sound Detection, Rhyme Task and Phoneme Deletion) and reading ability (Real Word Reading and Pseudoword Reading). Measures in both English and Thai were administered to all 424 participants with all directions given in the Thai language, in January 2005. The results showed that all four English subtests predicted English Real Word Reading: English Final Sound Detection, English Rhyme Task, English Phoneme Deletion and English Initial Sound Detection. Three English subtests predicted English Pseudoword Reading: English Phoneme Deletion, English Rhyme Task and English Final Sound Detection. The results also showed that three Thai subtests predicted Thai Real Word Reading: Thai Final Sound Detection, Thai Phoneme Deletion and Thai Initial Sound Detection. Three Thai subtests predicted Thai Pseudoword Reading: Thai Phoneme Deletion, Thai Final Sound Detection and Thai Initial Sound Detection. The transfer test showed that three subtests of Thai phonological awareness predicted English Real Word Reading: Thai Rhyme Task, Thai Phoneme Deletion and Thai Initial Sound Detection. Two subtests of Thai phonological awareness predicted English Pseudoword Reading: Thai Phoneme Deletion and Thai Rhyme Task. The conclusions are that English phonological awareness is significantly related to English Reading and that Thai phonological awareness is significantly related to Thai Reading. Furthermore, there is strong evidence that there is a transfer of phonological awareness from Thai to English among Thai primary school students. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS AND READING ABILITY OF THAI STUDENTS IN ENGLISH AND THAI IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS OF THAILAND
Dynamic Jahn-Teller Effect and Colossal Magnetoresistance in La 1-xSrxMnO3.

A model for $La_{1-x}Sr_xMnO_3$ which incorporates the physics of dynamic Jahn-Teller and double-exchange effects is presented and solved via a dynamical mean field approximation. In an intermediate coupling regime the interplay of these two effects is found to reproduce the behavior of the resistivity and magnetic transition temperature observed in $La_{1-x} Sr_x MnO_3$.
Co-packaging of sense and antisense RNAs: a novel strategy for blocking HIV-1 replication

Retroviral vectors were engineered to express either sense (MoTiN-TRPsie+) or sense and antisense (MoTN-TRPsie+/-) RNAs containing the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) trans -activation response (TAR) element and the extended packaging (Psie) signal. The Psie signal includes the dimer linkage structure (DLS) and the Rev response element (RRE). Amphotropic vector particles were used to transduce a human CD4+ T-lymphoid (MT4) cell line. Stable transductants were then tested for sense and antisense RNA production and susceptibility to HIV-1 infection. HIV-1 production was significantly decreased in cells transduced with MoTiN-TRPsie+ and MoTN-TRPsie+/-vectors. Efficient packaging of sense and most remarkably of antisense RNA was observed within the virus progeny. Infectivity of this virus was significantly decreased in both cases, suggesting that the interfering RNAs were co-packaged with HIV-1 RNA. Vector transduction was not expected to occur and was not observed. Inhibition of HIV-1 replication was also demonstrated in human peripheral blood lymphocytes transduced with retroviral vectors expressing antisense RNA. These results suggest that (i) both sense and antisense RNAs were co-packaged with HIV-1 RNA, (ii) the co-packaged sense and antisense RNAs inhibited virus infectivity and (iii) the co-packaged sense and antisense RNAs were not transduced. Sense and antisense RNA-based strategies may also be used to co-package other interfering RNAs (e.g. ribozymes) to cleave HIV-1 virion RNA.
A mechanism for uplink packet scheduler in LTE network in the context of machine-to-machine communication

This paper proposes a mechanism for uplink packet scheduler in LTE network in the context of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication. The proposed approach uses the current and past information of the system to satisfy the Quality of Service (QoS) requirements, to ensure fairness in resource allocation and to control the congestion caused by M2M devices. We carried out some network simulations by using a NS-3 simulator so as to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The results indicate that our solution can reduce the impact of M2M communication on Human-to-Human (H2H) communication and avoid the problem of starvation, when compared to related approaches.
A sensitive array-based assay for identifying multiple TMPRSS2:ERG fusion gene variants

Studies of gene fusions in solid tumors are not as extensive as in hematological malignancies due to several technical and analytical problems associated with tumor heterogeneity. Nevertheless, there is a growing interest in the role of fusion genes in common epithelial tumors after the discovery of recurrent TMPRSS2:ETS fusions in prostate cancer. Among all of the reported fusion partners in the ETS gene family, TMPRSS2:ERG is the most prevalent one. Here, we present a simple and sensitive microarray-based assay that is able to simultaneously determine multiple fusion variants with a single RT–PCR in impure RNA specimens. The assay detected TMPRSS2:ERG fusion transcripts with a detection sensitivity of <10 cells in the presence of more than 3000 times excess normal RNA, and in primary prostate tumors having no >1% of cancer cells. The ability to detect multiple transcript variants in a single assay is critically dependent on both the primer and probe designs. The assay should facilitate clinical and basic studies for fusion gene screening in clinical specimens, as it can be readily adapted to include multiple gene loci.
Discharge disposition of adolescents admitted to medical hospitals after attempting suicide.

OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that discharge disposition for adolescents admitted to medical hospitals after attempting suicide varies as a function of hospital type and geographic region. DESIGN Retrospective cohort analysis. SETTING The nationally representative Kids' Inpatient Database for 2000. PARTICIPANTS Patients aged 10 to 19 years with a diagnosis of suicide attempt or self-inflicted injury.Main Outcome Measure Likelihood of transfer to another facility vs discharge to home. RESULTS Care for 32 655 adolescents who attempted suicide was provided in adult hospitals (83% of hospitalizations), children's units in general hospitals (10%), and children's hospitals (4%). More than half (66%) of medical hospitalizations ended with discharge to home, 21% with transfer to a psychiatric, rehabilitation, or chronic care (P/R/C) facility, 10% with transfer to a skilled nursing facility, intermediate care facility, or short-term acute care hospital facility, and 2% with death or departure against medical advice. After adjustment for individual patient characteristics, children's units were 44% more likely than adult hospitals to transfer adolescent patients to a P/R/C facility (odds ratio [OR], 1.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-1.94). Patients cared for outside the Northeast were significantly less likely to be transferred to a P/R/C facility (South: OR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.65-0.97; Midwest: OR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.49-0.80; West: OR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.22-0.38). CONCLUSIONS Most adolescents admitted to a medical hospital after a suicide attempt are discharged to home, and the likelihood of transfer to another facility appears to be influenced by the geographic location of the admitting hospital and whether it caters to children.
Adherence to treatment with second-line therapies, dasatinib and nilotinib, in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia

Abstract Background and objective: Previous studies have shown that long-term outcomes are more favorable for patients newly diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) if a complete cytogenetic response is achieved within ≤12 months of diagnosis. Because continuous and adequate dosing is important to achieve this outcome, it is important to understand treatment adherence as part of managing long-term CML therapy. While studies regarding imatinib suggest that adherence varies widely, data addressing adherence to newer breakpoint cluster region–Abelson (BCR-ABL) inhibitors (dasatinib and nilotinib) are sparse. This study evaluates real-world adherence in patients diagnosed with CML receiving dasatinib or nilotinib as second-line therapy. Research design and methods: Using the HealthCore Integrated Research Database (HIRDSM), patients with ≥1 International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition/revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) code for CML (205.1x ) and ≥1 prescription for imatinib from January 1, 2001 to June 30, 2010 were identified. Analysis was limited to patients who switched to second-line dasatinib or nilotinib. Dasatinib exposure was stratified by dose (≤100 mg/day or ≥140 mg/day) to account for dasatinib label changes. Main outcome measures: Medication possession ratio (MPR) was used to calculate adherence and Cox proportional hazard models were used to quantify poor rates of adherence (i.e. MPR <85%). Results: Of 2064 imatinib-exposed patients, 197 received dasatinib (≤100 mg/day, n = 112; ≥140 mg/day, n = 85) and 53 received nilotinib (400 mg BID, n = 46; 400 mg QD, n = 7) as second-line therapy. Mean exposure durations were 276 days for dasatinib (≤100 mg, 275 days; ≥140 mg, 276 days) and 170 days for nilotinib. Cox proportional hazard models quantifying rates of poor adherence (MPR < 85%) comparing nilotinib with dasatinib (adjusted for age, sex, duration of previous imatinib exposure, number of concomitant medications, presence of cardiovascular disease or diabetes) calculated hazard ratios of 1.6 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0–2.4) for nilotinib versus dasatinib overall, 1.9 (95% CI, 1.2–3.0) for nilotinib versus dasatinib ≤100 mg, and 1.2 (95% CI, 0.7–2.0) for nilotinib versus dasatinib ≥140 mg. Conclusions: While this study is limited by use of claims data to identify CML and adherence, claims based data have been widely used to evaluate the association between treatment use and clinical outcomes. When stratified by dose, patients receiving second-line nilotinib were almost two times more likely to have poor adherence compared with patients receiving second-line dasatinib at the current approved dose of 100 mg once daily.
Dynamics of the neuronal cytoskeleton during apoptosis

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The Adapted mind : evolutionary psychology and the generation of culture

Although researchers have long been aware that the species-typical architecture of the human mind is the product of our evolutionary history, it has only been in the last three decades that advances in such fields as evolutionary biology, cognitive psychology, and paleoanthropology have made the fact of our evolution illuminating. Converging findings from a variety of disciplines are leading to the emergence of a fundamentally new view of the human mind, and with it a new framework for the behavioral and social sciences. First, with the advent of the cognitive revolution, human nature can finally be defined precisely as the set of universal, species-typical information-processing programs that operate beneath the surface of expressed cultural variability. Second, this collection of cognitive programs evolved in the Pleistocene to solve the adaptive problems regularly faced by our hunter-gatherer ancestors--problems such as mate selection, language acquisition, cooperation, and sexual infidelity. Consequently, the traditional view of the mind as a general-purpose computer, tabula rasa, or passive recipient of culture is being replaced by the view that the mind resembles an intricate network of functionally specialized computers, each of which imposes contentful structure on human mental organization and culture. The Adapted Mind explores this new approach--evolutionary psychology--and its implications for a new view of culture.
Exact Stability Analysis of 2-D Systems Using LMIs

In this note, we propose necessary and sufficient conditions for the asymptotic stability analysis of two-dimensional (2-D) systems in terms linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). By introducing a guardian map for the set of Schur stable complex matrices, we first reduce the stability analysis problems into nonsingularity analysis problems of parameter-dependent complex matrices. Then, by means of the discrete-time positive real lemma and the generalized S-procedure, we derive LMI-based conditions that enable us to analyze the asymptotic stability in an exact (i.e., nonconservative) fashion. It turns out that, by employing the generalized S-procedure, we can derive smaller size of LMIs so that the computational burden can be reduced
Minor disease features in neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and their possible value in diagnosis of NF 1 in children A 6 years and clinically suspected of having NF1

Objective-To establish the frequency of minor disease features in children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NFl) and to evaluate the value of minor disease features in children < 6 years with a suspected diagnosis of NF1, considering that the disease is virtually 100% penetrant at 6 years of age. Design-During this 10 year, prospective, multidisciplinary, follow up study, 209 children suspected of having NFI were examined; 150 were diagnosed with NF1 and 59 were not. The present analysis included children in whom NFI was considered to be present at 6 years of age (n=85) and children without NFI at 6 years of age (n=42). Results-The minor disease features mac-rocephaly (52.9%), short stature (24.7%), hypertelorism (63.5%), and thorax abnormalities (37.6%) were highly prevalent in children with NF1 and significantly associated with a diagnosis of NFI at 6 years of age. In addition, the mean number of minor disease features was significantly higher in children with NFI at 6 years of age compared to the group without a diagnosis at 6 years of age (mean 1.8 v 0.8, p<0.001). Moreover, children with three or more minor disease features were all diagnosed with NFI under the age of 6 years. Multivariate analysis using a logistic regression model showed that macro-cephaly, short stature, hypertelorism, and thorax abnormalities were all independently associated with the presence of NFl at 6 years of age. Conclusion-In children with insufficient diagnostic criteria aged <6 years, documentation of minor disease features may be a helpful aid in predicting the diagnosis of NFI in years to come. (
Creativity and perception in management

Written as a text for master's level business course at the Open University (UK), this work addresses some of the principles and practices entailed in the form of management associated with creative and innovative organizations. Creativity and Perception in Management is a textbook revealing the importance of creativity and innovation in today’s organizations. The book provides students with the principles and practices entailed in the new form of management associated with creative and innovative organizations. It introduces the creative approaches in management, revealing the role and impact of cognition, intuition and perception. Jane Henry differentiates between a variety of personal styles and shows their implications for creativity, problem solving, communication, decision making and role preference. Students using this textbook will understand the impact of cultural values and certain historical habits of thought on management and organization, and identify the main ways in which management can enable organizations to be more sustainable and responsible. The text includes student activities, illustrative cartoons, boxed examples and recommended readings. It can be used alongside the Readers Creative Management 2nd edition (Henry) and Managing Innovation and Change 2nd edition (Henry and Mayle). Creativity and Perception in Management is a key course text on the Open University Business School’s Creativity, Innovation and Change master’s course.