Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ICPE 2018 International Conference on Psychology and Education SPATIAL ANXIETY AND SPATIAL PERFORMANCE IN UNIVERISTY STUDENTS IN RUSSIA AND CHINA

Previous studies showed inconsistent results with regards to the levels of spatial anxiety and its associations with spatial performance in males and females. In the current study, we recruited two samples from China and Russia to assess males and females on three different spatial dimensions (spatial perception, mental rotation, and spatial visualization). Eight spatial ability tests were used to measure spatial abilities the in three dimensions. The results showed that males outperformed females on all three spatial dimensions. Some differences in performance and anxiety levels were also observed across the two countries samples and are discussed in light of potential differences in selection criteria and aspects of culture. Compared to males, females had higher spatial anxiety, overall. Similar magnitudes of correlations between spatial anxiety and spatial dimesions were observed in the Russian and Chinese samples. For further analysis, the participants were divided into two groups: low spatial anxiety and high spatial anxiety according to the median of spatial anxiety for each country. Results showed significant differences between low and high spatial anxiety groups in performance on the three spatial tasks and the composite spatial ability measure. In addition, females had more anxiety on spatial perception and visualization. However, for males and females the correlations between anxiety and spatial visualization, and anxiety and spatial perception were of similar magnitudes. © 2018 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy. org.UK
Multiplication Algorithms for Monge Matrices Luı́s

In this paper we study algorithms for the max-plus product of Monge matrices. These algorithms use the underlying regularities of the matrices to be faster than the general multiplication algorithm, hence saving time. A non-naive solution is to iterate the SMAWK algorithm. For specific classes there are more efficient algorithms. We present a new multiplication algorithm (MMT), that is efficient for general Monge matrices and also for specific classes. The theoretical and empirical analysis shows that MMT operates in near optimal space and time. Hence we give further insight into an open problem proposed by Landau. The resulting algorithms are relevant for bio-informatics, namely because Monge matrices occur in string alignment problems.
Constructing Modernity from Its Borders: Muslim Minority Women's Encounter with Education and Assisted Reproductive Technology in Modern Greece

Abstract:This article explores conceptions of modernity as both gendered and culturally mediated formations in the longstanding minority of Thrace in Northern Greece, examining how women in this community treat mobility, education, and the use of assisted reproductive technologies. In engaging these subjects both discursively and practically, this "minority within the minority" simultaneously embraces and undermines dominant understandings of modernity that code it as ethnoculturally Greek and as antithetical to traditional femininity. Through speaking and learning in Greek, as well as discursively exposing new ideas around gender and reproduction, these Muslim women first enter into a nationalized vision of modernity, whose incorporation of these once excluded subjects demands its own modification, and second impose their own distinct vision of modernity. Their minority status allows them to pursue a productive mobility, literally and symbolically, between Greece and Turkey, while their complex identities forge at moments a distinctive motile praxis of Muslim modernity-making.
School of Economic s and Finance DSGE Priors for BVAR Models

Similar to Ingram and Whiteman (1994), De Jong et al. (1993) and Del Negro and Schorfheide (2004) this study proposes a methodology of constructing Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) consistent prior distributions for Bayesian Vector Autoregressive (BVAR) models. The moments of the assumed Normal-Inverse Wishart (no conjugate) prior distribution of the VAR parameter vector are derived using the results developed by Fernandez-Villaverde et al. (2007), Christiano et al. (2006) and Ravenna (2007) regarding structural VAR (SVAR) models and the normal prior density of the DSGE parameter vector. In line with the results from previous studies, BVAR models with theoretical priors seem to achieve forecasting performance that is comparable – if not better – to the one obtained using theory free “Minnesota” priors (Doan et al., 1984). Additionally, the marginal-likelihood of the time-series model with theory founded priors – derived from the output of the Gibbs sampler – can be used to rank competing DSGE theories that aim to explain the same observed data (Geweke, 2005). Finally, motivated by the work of Christiano et al. (2010b,a) and Del Negro and Schorfheide (2004) we use the theoretical results developed by Chernozhukov and Hong (2003) and Theodoridis (2011) to derive the quasi Bayesian posterior distribution of the DSGE parameter vector. JEL Classification: C11, C13, C32, C52
Test-Retest Reproducibility of the Intrinsic Default Mode Network : Influence of fMRI Slice-Order Acquisition and Head-Motion Correction Methods

T h is p ap er h as b ee n p ee rre v ie w ed a n d a cc ep te d f o r p u b li ca ti o n , b u t h as y et t o u n d er g o c o p y ed it in g a n d p ro o f co rr ec ti o n . T h e fi n al p u b li sh ed v er si o n m ay d if fe r fr o m t h is p ro o f. Test-Retest Reproducibility of the Intrinsic Default Mode Network: Influence of fMRI Slice-Order Acquisition and Head-Motion Correction Methods
Solvothermal Conversion of Lignosulfonate Assisted by Ni Catalyst: Investigation of the Role of Ethanol and Ethylene Glycol as Solvents

In this study, reductive solvolysis of lignosulfonate using Ni-based catalysts in ethylene glycol (EG) and ethanol (EtOH) at 250 °C was investigated. The liquefied fractions, regarded as oil, were carefully analyzed using size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry with flame ionization detection (GC-MS-FID). The oil yields from catalytic conversion in EtOH and EG were similar, being 31 and 32 wt. %, respectively. The oil fractions from depolymerization in EtOH had lower molecular weight compared to the oil products in EG, indicating a higher degree of degradation of liquefied products in EtOH. On the other hand, EG showed superior activity in inhibiting condensation reactions; 16 and 46 wt. % tetrahydrofuran (THF) soluble and THF insoluble solid fractions were obtained from conversion in EtOH, while those numbers in EG were 45 and 23 wt. %, respectively. The Ni-based catalyst was introduced to provide active sites for hydrogenation of lignosulfonate fragments released into the solvent. The presence of NiS in the spent catalyst, formed from reaction between Ni and sulfur in the lignosulfonate, was confirmed. The sulfur content in the oil obtained in EtOH was 0.38 wt. %, which in comparison to lignosulfonate with 3.1 wt. % sulfur, indicated a high level of desulfurization.
Bone Properties and Matrix Content of TGF-β 2 and IGF-I in Human Tibia : A Pilot Study Permalink

Transforming and insulin-like growth factors are important in regulating bone mass. Thus, one would anticipate correlations between matrix concentrations of growth factors and functional properties of bone. We therefore investigated the relationships of (1) TGF-b2 and (2) IGF-I matrix concentrations with the trabecular microstructure, stress distribution, and mechanical properties of tibial cancellous bone from six male human cadavers. Trabecular stress amplification (VMExp/rapp) and variability (VMCOV) were calculated using microcomputed tomography (lCT)-based finite element simulations. Bone volume fraction (BV/TV), surface/volume ratio (BS/BV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), number (Tb.N) and separation (Tb.Sp), connectivity (Eu.N), and anisotropy (DA) were measured using 3-D morphometry. Bone stiffness and strength were measured by mechanical testing. Matrix concentrations of TGF-b2 and IGF-I were measured by ELISA. We found higher matrix concentrations of TGF-b2 were associated with higher Tb.Sp and VMExp/rapp for pooled data and within subjects. Similarly, a higher matrix concentration of IGF-I was associated with lower stiffness, strength, BV/TV and Tb.Th and with higher BS/BV, Tb.Sp, VMExp/rapp and VMCOV for pooled data and within subjects. IGF-I and Tb.N were negatively associated within subjects. It appears variations of the stress distribution in cancellous bone correlate with the variation of the concentrations of TGF-b2 and IGF-I in bone matrix: increased local matrix concentrations of growth factors are associated with poor biomechanical and architectural properties of tibial cancellous bone.
GC-MS analysis and in vitro bioactivity of fixed oil and fatty acid fraction obtained from seeds of Simira gardneriana, a Rubiaceae from Brazilian Caatinga Biome

Rubiaceae family includes many species with biological activity, highlighting the genus Simira. In the Caatinga, this genus is represented by six species, and among them, Simira gardneriana is the only endemic species. Previous studies with this plant have shown that extracts from the aerial parts have antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the chemical composition, antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of fixed oil and fatty acids fraction obtained from seeds of the plant. For this, the fixed oil (Si-FO) was obtained through an extraction with petroleum ether. Subsequently, the fraction of fatty acids (Si-FA) was obtained and then esterified to facilitate analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry GC-MS. Si-FO and Si-FA were evaluated for their antibacterial (MIC and MBC determination) and cytotoxic (MTS assays) properties. The GC-MS analysis identified squalene (39.95%), β-sitosterol (13.82%) and palmitic aldehyde (7.02%) as the major components of Si-FO. Meanwhile, the major compounds identified for the methylated fatty acids fraction were oleic (51.17%), 5,6-octadecadienoic (16.22%) and stearic acids (10.47%). In terms of biological activity, Si-FO and Si-FA exhibited relevant antibacterial activity against Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus strains. In addition, Si-FO showed moderate cytotoxicity against Sarcome S-180 cells, reaching 50.58% of cytotoxic activity in the highest concentration tested (400 μg/ml). These results can be explained by the chemical composition of the samples, since previous studies reported antibacterial and cytotoxic effects of the major compounds identified in Si-FO and Si-FA. Key words: Fixed oil, fatty acids, antibacterial, cytotoxic, Rubiaceae, Simira, Caatinga.
Evolutionary‐games approach for distributed predictive control involving resource allocation

This study proposes a distributed model predictive control (DMPC) scheme based on population games for a system formed by a set of sub-systems. In addition to considering independent operational constraints for each sub-system, the controller addresses a coupled constraint that involves the sum of all control inputs. This constraint models an upper bound on the total amount of energy supplied to the plant. The proposed approach does not need a centralised coordinator when having a coupled constraint involving all the decision variables. The proposed methodology, which takes advantage of evolutionary game theory concepts, provides an optimal solution for the described problem. Moreover, it is shown that the methodology has plug-and-play features, i.e. for each already designed local MPC controller nothing changes when more sub-systems are added/removed to/from the global constrained control problem. Furthermore, the stability analysis of the proposed DMPC scheme is presented.
Assessing Concentration Changes of Odorant Compounds in the Thermal-Mechanical Drying Phase of Sediment-Like Wastes from Olive Oil Extraction

In the industrial production of olive oil, both solid wastes and those produced from their incineration are a serious environmental problem since only 20% w/w of the fruit becomes oil and the rest is waste, mainly orujo and alperujo. A key aspect to transforming these wastes into an important source of energy such as pellets is to recognize the most appropriate time of the year for waste drying, with the objective of minimizing the environmental impact of the volatile compounds contained in the waste. In this work, the emissions produced during thermal-mechanical drying were studied throughout a period of six months of waste storage in which alperujo and orujo were stored in open containers under uncontrolled environmental conditions. The studied emissions were produced when both wastes were dried in a pilot rotary drying trommel at 450 °C to reduce their initial humidity of around 70–80% w/w to 10–15% w/w. Results indicated that when the storage time of the wastes in the uncontrolled environments increased, the emission of odorant compounds during drying also increased as a consequence of the biological and chemical processes occurring in the containers. The main odorant VOCs were quantified monthly for six months at the outlet of the drying trommel. It was determined that the drying of this type of waste could be carried out properly until the third month of storage. Afterwards, the concentration of most VOCs produced widely exceeded the odor thresholds of selected compounds.
Quantum Calcium-Ion Interactions with EEG

Background: Previous papers have developed a statistical mechanics of neocortical interactions (SMNI) fit to short-term memory and EEG data. Adaptive Simulated Annealing (ASA) has been developed to perform fits to such nonlinear stochastic systems. An N-dimensional path-integral algorithm for quantum systems, qPATHINT, has been developed from classical PATHINT. Both fold short-time propagators (distributions or wave functions) over long times. Previous papers applied qPATHINT to two systems, in neocortical interactions and financial options. Objective: In this paper the quantum path-integral for Calcium ions is used to derive a closed-form analytic solution at arbitrary time that is used to calculate interactions with classical-physics SMNI interactions among scales. Using fits of this SMNI model to EEG data, including these effects, will help determine if this is a reasonable approach. Method: Methods of mathematical-physics for optimization and for path integrals in classical and quantum spaces are used for this project. Studies using supercomputer resources tested various dimensions for their scaling limits. In this paper the quantum path-integral is used to derive a closed-form analytic solution at arbitrary time that is used to calculate interactions with classical-physics SMNI interactions among scales. Results: The mathematical-physics and computer parts of the study are successful, in that there is modest improvement of cost/objective functions used to fit EEG data using these models. Conclusions: This project points to directions for more detailed calculations using more EEG data and qPATHINT at each time slice to propagate quantum calcium waves, synchronized with PATHINT propagation of classical SMNI.
Expanders - how to find them, and what to find in them

A graph $G=(V,E)$ is called an expander if every vertex subset $U$ of size up to $|V|/2$ has an external neighborhood whose size is comparable to $|U|$. Expanders have been a subject of intensive research for more than three decades and have become one of the central notions of modern graph theory. We first discuss the above definition of an expander and its alternatives. Then we present examples of families of expanding graphs and state basic properties of expanders. Next, we introduce a way to argue that a given graph contains a large expanding subgraph. Finally we research properties of expanding graphs, such as existence of small separators, of cycles (including cycle lengths), and embedding of large minors.
Anti-fat bias and school adjustment among primary school children in Spain

Título: Estereotipos hacia el sobrepeso/obesidad y ajuste escolar en niños de educación primaria en España. Resumen: El objetivo del presente estudio fue investigar los estereotipos y prejuicios de los niños y maestros hacia el sobrepeso/obesidad. Dos mil cincuenta y cinco niños de 8 a 12 años y sus profesores participaron en el estudio. Se midió el Índice de Masa Corporal y la percepción hacia el sobrepeso/obesidad en los niños, y la evaluación de ajuste escolar por parte de los profesores. Los escolares, particularmente los más jóvenes, eligieron menos atributos positivos y más negativos para las figuras gruesas. Además, en una tarea para evaluar su disposición a participar en actividades sociales y recreativas en función del tamaño corporal, la figura gruesa fue la elegida con menos frecuencia. Los profesores puntuaron con un menor ajuste escolar a los estudiantes con sobrepeso/obesidad. Futuras investigaciones deberían centrarse en intervenciones de prevención eficaces y en promover un clima escolar saludable. Palabras clave: Estereotipo; Sobrepeso/obesidad; Niño/a; Profesor/a; Ajuste escolar. Abstract: The aim of the present study was to investigate stereotypes and prejudices among children and schoolteachers toward overweight/obesity. Two thousand fifty-five 8to 12-year-olds and their teachers took part in the study. Children’s body mass index, children’s perceptions of overweight/obesity and teachers’ assessment of school adjustment were measured. Students, particularly younger children, ascribed less positive attributes and more negative attributes to fat figures. Furthermore, in a task to assess their behavioral intentions to participate in social and recreational activities according to target’s body size, the fat figure was the least frequently chosen. Teachers reported lower overall school adjustment for overweight/obese students. Future research should examine cost-effective interventions to prevent anti-fat bias and to promote healthy school climate.
KINEMATICAL AND CHEMICAL VERTICAL STRUCTURE OF THE GALACTIC THICK DISK. II. A LACK OF DARK MATTER IN THE SOLAR NEIGHBORHOOD,

We estimated the dynamical surface mass density Σ at the solar position between Z = 1.5 and 4 kpc from the Galactic plane, as inferred from the kinematics of thick disk stars. The formulation is exact within the limit of validity of a few basic assumptions. The resulting trend of Σ(Z) matches the expectations of visible mass alone, and no dark component is required to account for the observations. We extrapolate a dark matter (DM) density in the solar neighborhood of 0 ± 1 mM☉ pc−3, and all the current models of a spherical DM halo are excluded at a confidence level higher than 4σ. A detailed analysis reveals that a small amount of DM is allowed in the volume under study by the change of some input parameter or hypothesis, but not enough to match the expectations of the models, except under an exotic combination of non-standard assumptions. Identical results are obtained when repeating the calculation with kinematical measurements available in the literature. We demonstrate that a DM halo would be detected by our method, and therefore the results have no straightforward interpretation. Only the presence of a highly prolate (flattening q > 2) DM halo can be reconciled with the observations, but this is highly unlikely in ΛCDM models. The results challenge the current understanding of the spatial distribution and nature of the Galactic DM. In particular, our results may indicate that any direct DM detection experiment is doomed to fail if the local density of the target particles is negligible.
Golden Ratio in the Point Sink Induced Consolidation Settlement of a Poroelastic Half Space

of consolidation settlement than from a pervious one. Chen (2002, 2005) presented analytical solutions for the steady-state response of displacements and stresses in a half space subjected to a point sink. Lu and Lin (2006) displayed transient ground surface displacement produced by a point heat source/sink through analog quantities between poroelasticity and thermoelasticity. Hou et al. (2005) found that pumping induced ground horizontal velocities range from 31 to 54 mm / yr towards azimuths 247° to 273° in the Plain of Taiwan. Their results show that ground horizontal displacement occurred Parametric representation of shapes, mechanical components modeling with 3D visualization techniques using object oriented programming, the well known golden ratio application on vertical and horizontal displacement investigations of the ground surface, spatial modeling and simulating of dynamic continuous fluid flow process, simulation model for waste-water treatment, an interaction of tilt and illumination conditions at flight simulation and errors in taxiing performance, plant layout optimal plot plan, atmospheric modeling for weather prediction, a stochastic search method that explores the solutions for hill climbing process, cellular automata simulations, thyristor switching characteristics simulation, and simulation framework toward bandwidth quantization and measurement, are all topics with appropriate results from different research backgrounds focused on tolerance analysis and optimal control provided in this book.
Chapter 5 Do anticoagulants affect colon cancer ?

Clinical trials have shown life-prolonging effects of low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs) in a wide variety of cancer patients. From animal studies it is known that the development of metastasis is dependent on the activation status of the blood coagulation cascade and that metastasis can be inhibited by anticoagulants. However, hypercoagulability due to a FVL disorder did not increase metastasis of colon cancer cells in the liver. This raises the question whether colon cancer cells are dependent on the coagulation cascade to metastasize and whether anticoagulants inhibit colon cancer metastasis. We investigated the effects of LMWH on the development of metastasis in a mouse colon carcinoma model. Mice received LMWH intraperitoneally by a micro-osmotic pump or were sham operated in an experimentally induced colon cancer metastasis model to generate long term therapeutic plasma levels of LMWH. Simultaneously, mice received MCA-38 syngeneic colon cancer cells in the portal vein. After 21 days, the mice were sacrificed and the livers were evaluated for the amount, size and morphology of the tumors. LMWH anticoagulant activity as measured by anti-Xa plasma levels at 9 days after cancer cell injection was in the therapeutic range with average levels of 0.35 IU anti-Xa/ml. No difference in liver weight, number and size of metastases were found between LMWH-treated mice and controls. Differences in fibrin/fibrinogen content were not found between tumors of treated mice and tumors of controls. Conclusion: LMWH does not affect colon cancer metastasis in mouse liver.
Simulation-based performance testing of the Bayesian clustering program STRUCTURE

Proper management of wildlife species relies on an accurate understanding of population structure. While many methods exist for identifying population structure, most of them have not tested in the range of parameters that are typically of interest to wildlife managers. We used simulated datasets to test the performance of STRUCTURE, a Bayesian clustering method designed to assign individual samples to groups based on their genetic similarity and infer the number of populations represented in a sample. We used STRUCTURE to analyze datasets consisting of one or two populations. We found that in the two-population datasets, the individual assignments produced by STRUCTURE were no better than random. STRUCTURE also performed poorly at inferring the number of populations. We examined two different population ancestry and allele frequency models, and found that, while neither model resulted in acceptable performance, results produced by the default model recommended by STRUCTURE’s authors better reflected the actual level of uncertainty in individual assignment. Our results suggest that STRUCTURE is unlikely to be a useful tool in defining management units for large whales.