Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Policy-Driven Management of Data Sets

Contemporary storage systems separate the management of data from the management of the underlying physical storage media used to store that data. This separation is artificial and increases the overall burden of managing such systems. We propose a new management layer that unifies data and storage management without any loss of control over either the data or the storage. The new management layer consists of three basic entities: data sets, which describe the data managed by the system, policies that specify rules for the management of data sets, and resource pools that represent storage that can be used to implement the policies for the data sets. Using data sets and policies, data administrators are able to directly manage their data, even though that requires them to indirectly manage the underlying storage infrastructure. The storage administrator retains control over what the data administrator can do to the storage. This new management layer provides the infrastructure necessary to build mechanisms that automate or simplify many administrative tasks, including the necessary coordination between the data and storage administrators. We describe Protection Manager, the first tool that uses this management layer to present storage management in the context of data management tasks that the data administrator wants to perform, and evaluate the effectiveness of using this management layer as a way to automate backups.
Counting Items versus Measuring Space in Content Analysis

Measuring stories by space produced better results than sorting and counting them by individual rank order categories in this content analysis. A study of eight daily Saudi Arabian newspapers employed both factor analysis and Pearson correlations to compare coverage of five subjects. Measuring the amount of space allocated to stories produced both high correlations among newspapers and accounted, in factor analysis, for a high amount of variance.
Embracing Change: Further Examination of a “Capabilities and Benevolence” Beliefs Model in a Military Sample

Building on earlier research that used a “capabilities/benevolence” framework to examine an “embracing change” disposition, the current investigation extended previous cadet-based findings to a sample of company- and field-grade military officers. We hypothesized that officers with a high learning orientation and a high propensity to trust others would hold a significantly more positive attitude toward change than other individuals, even when controlling for the officer's general dispositional resistance to change. As with the earlier cadet results, the findings confirmed the hypothesis for learning orientation but not for trust. Discussion focused on the utility of acquiring a better understanding of an embracing change disposition and on the value of salting individuals with high learning orientations throughout the organization. Additionally, for future research, we consider the importance of employing multiple and diverse methods when exploring the embracing change construct. Such methodological expansion will undoubtedly reduce some conceptual ambiguities associated with the current study.
The Role of Political Language Forms and Language Coherence in the Organizational Change Process

This paper views organizational change from a linguistic perspective. Concepts are taken from the theory of speech acts, the theory of political language forms, and the theory of language coherence and applied to two case studies of companies undergoing major organizational change. Two criteria for coherent language use during organizational change are developed and illustrated empirically using two contrasting cases (which are re-interpreted from the extant literature). These cases are modelled sequentially in their own terms, one case forming five stages, the other forming four stages. The first case involves AT&T (Schlesinger et al. 1987), which satisfies the two criteria of coherent language use. The second case, involving Chrysler (Moritz and Seaman 1981), does not satisfy these two criteria.
The influence of students’ interest, ability and personal situation on students’ perception of a problem-based learning environment

The twofold purpose of this study is to identify engineering students’ perceptions of a problem-based learning environment and to analyse the influence of their personal situation, general interest in engineering and ability to succeed on their perception, after they were exposed to PBL for the first time. Based on an adjusted version of the problem-based learning environment inventory [Senocak, E. 2009. “Development of an Instrument for Assessing Undergraduate Science Students’ Perceptions: The Problem-based Learning Environment Inventory. ” Journal of Science Education Technology 18 (6): 560–569], data regarding students’ perception were collected through a questionnaire survey and analysed by applying exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. The analysis revealed a three-factorial PBL environment consisting of learning facilitator support, student responsibility and project quality, with strong influences of students’ personal situation on project quality, interest on the learning facilitator support and ability to succeed on students’ responsibility. Supporting students’ general interest in engineering seems to improve their perception of the learning facilitator support and ensuring students’ ability to succeed in a PBL environment seems to increase students’ awareness of their own responsibility.
Repair for Distributed Storage Systems With Packet Erasure Channels and Dedicated Nodes for Repair

We study the repair problem in distributed storage systems where storage nodes are connected through packet erasure channels and some nodes are dedicated to repair [termed as dedicated-for-repair (DR) storage nodes]. We first investigate the minimum required repair-bandwidth in an asymptotic setup, in which the stored file is assumed to have an infinite size. The result shows that the asymptotic repair-bandwidth over packet erasure channels with a fixed erasure probability has a closed-form relation to the repair-bandwidth in lossless networks. Next, we show the benefits of DR storage nodes in reducing the repair bandwidth, and then we derive the necessary minimal storage space of DR storage nodes. Finally, we study the repair in a nonasymptotic setup, where the stored file size is finite. We study the minimum practical-repair-bandwidth, i.e., the repair-bandwidth for achieving a given probability of successful repair. A combinatorial optimization problem is formulated to provide the optimal practical-repair-bandwidth for a given packet erasure probability. We show the gain of our proposed approaches in reducing the repair-bandwidth.
Social identity theory: A conceptual and empirical critique from the perspective of a behavioural interaction model

After a conceptual and methodological critique of Social Identity Theory (SIT), it is argued, in sharp contrast to SIT but consistent with a Behavioural Interaction Model (BIM), that the allocations in the standard Minimal Group Paradigm (MGP) —which provide the main evidence for SIT— can be best reinterpreted as instrumental, rational behaviour aimed at maximizing the economic self-interests of the subjects rather than efforts on their part to strive for a positive social identity as SIT has claimed. Explicit social categorization appears to be only one of the many unit-forming factors which may affect allocations within and between group boundaries in the MGP. Group polarization effects indicate that groups, guided by their perceived interdependence on the recipients of their allocations seem more rational and effective than their individual members prior to the group discussion in maximizing their economic outcomes. Finally, it is concluded that BIM provides probably a more parsimonious explanation of all the usualfindings obtained by the standard MGP than SIT.
A comparison of polyamorous and monoamorous persons: are there differences in indices of relationship well-being and sociosexuality?

A convenience sample of 284 self-identified polyamorous and monoamorous men and women were compared on various psychometrically sound indices of relationship well-being (e.g. intimacy and trust) as well as sociosexuality. Results indicated that both polyamorous men and women evidenced greater levels of intimacy in comparison to their monoamorous counterparts. Polyamorous men also reported stronger attitudinal and behavioural sociosexuality (i.e. more favourable attitudes towards uncommitted/casual sexual activity and a greater number of casual sexual partners). These differences remained statistically significant, even when controlling for socio-demographic variables such as age, income, educational attainment and sexual orientation.
Quantum mass and central charge of supersymmetric monopoles: anomalies, current renormalization, and surface terms

We calculate the one-loop quantum corrections to the mass and central charge of N = 2 and N = 4 supersymmetric monopoles in 3+1 dimensions. The corrections to the N = 2 central charge are finite and due to an anomaly in the conformal central charge current, but they cancel for the N = 4 monopole. For the quantum corrections to the mass we start with the integral over the expectation value of the Hamiltonian density, which we show to consist of a bulk contribution which is given by the familiar sum over zero-point energies, as well as surface terms which contribute nontrivially in the monopole sector. The bulk contribution is evaluated through index theorems and found to be nonvanishing only in the N = 2 case. The contributions from the surface terms in the Hamiltonian are cancelled by infinite composite operator counterterms in the N = 4 case, forming a multiplet of improvement terms. These counterterms are also needed for the renormalization of the central charge. However, in the N = 2 case they cancel, and both the improved and the unimproved current multiplet are finite.
Emulation of mobile payment system

Margento is a mobile payment system, enabling customers to purchase products from vending machines or in retail stores, using their mobile phones. It is designed to complement existing credit and debit card systems, by enabling all mobile phone users to turn their phones into the payment instruments of their choice. This system is based on Ultrapsilas patented mobile payment terminal using the one and only mature feature found with any of todaypsilas phones - voice. It is very important to ensure secure and stable operation of such a system, under various loading conditions. For these reasons, we designed the Margento emulator equipment as the tool, which enables functional testing, performance testing, load testing and stress testing, of the Margento system.
STEROL METHYLTRANSFERASE 1 Controls the Level of Cholesterol in Plants

The side chain in plant sterols can have either a methyl or ethyl addition at carbon 24 that is absent in cholesterol. The ethyl addition is the product of two sequential methyl additions. Arabidopsis contains three genes—sterol methyltransferase 1 (SMT1), SMT2, and SMT3—homologous to yeast ERG6, which is known to encode an S-adenosylmethionine–dependent C-24 SMT that catalyzes a single methyl addition. The SMT1 polypeptide is the most similar of these Arabidopsis homologs to yeast Erg6p. Moreover, expression of Arabidopsis SMT1 in erg6 restores SMT activity to the yeast mutant. The smt1 plants have pleiotropic defects: poor growth and fertility, sensitivity of the root to calcium, and a loss of proper embryo morphogenesis. smt1 has an altered sterol content: it accumulates cholesterol and has less C-24 alkylated sterols content. Escherichia coli extracts, obtained from a strain expressing the Arabidopsis SMT1 protein, can perform both the methyl and ethyl additions to appropriate sterol substrates, although with different kinetics. The fact that smt1 null mutants still produce alkylated sterols and that SMT1 can catalyze both alkylation steps shows that there is considerable overlap in the substrate specificity of enzymes in sterol biosynthesis. The availability of the SMT1 gene and mutant should permit the manipulation of phytosterol composition, which will help elucidate the role of sterols in animal nutrition.
Lessons Learned from the Holocaust

Abstract This qualitative dual-case study addresses two 21st century teacher education imperatives, technology infusion and critical multicultural literacy instruction. We researched the integration of a blog as a tool to promote technology use in a graduate course on literacy and technology with a thematic focus on the Holocaust. Using a grounded theory approach (Corbin & Strauss, 2008), we analyzed data sources, including interviews, blog postings, and surveys. We conducted a second analysis using a priori coding schemes to further analyze students’ blog posts. Findings suggest that blogging has the potential to enhance knowledge of the ways technology can be harnessed to promote critical multicultural literacy instruction. From an action research stance, we also discuss implications for our future practice.
Combining Statistics of Geometrical and Correlative Features for 3D Face Recognition

In this paper, we present a new method for face recognition using range data. The proposed method is based on both global statistics of geometrical features and local statistics of correlative features of facial surfaces. Firstly, we analyze the performances of common geometrical representations by using global histograms for matching. Secondly, we propose a new method to encode the relationships between points and their neighbors, which are demonstrated to own great power to represent the intrinsic structure of facial surfaces. Finally, the two kinds of features are supposed to be complementary to some extent, and the combination of them is proven to be able to improve the recognition performance. All the experiments are performed on the full 3D face dataset of FRGC 2.0 which is the largest 3D face database so far. Promising results have demonstrated the effectiveness of our proposed method.
Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion suppresses hepatic triglyceride-rich lipoprotein and apoB production.

The current study assessed in vivo the effect of insulin on triglyceride-rich lipoprotein (TRL) production by rat liver. Hepatic triglyceride and apolipoprotein B (apoB) production were measured in anesthetized, fasted rats injected intravenously with Triton WR-1339 (400 mg/kg). After intravascular catabolism was blocked by detergent treatment, glucose (500 mg/kg) was injected to elicit insulin secretion, and serum triglyceride and apoB accumulation were monitored over the next 3 h. In glucose-injected rats, triglyceride secretion averaged 22.5 +/- 2.1 microg.ml(-1). min(-1), which was significantly less by 30% than that observed in saline-injected rats, which averaged 32.1 +/- 1.4 microg.ml(-1). min(-1). ApoB secretion was also significantly reduced by 66% in glucose-injected rats. ApoB immunoblotting indicated that both B100 and B48 production were significantly reduced after glucose injection. Results support the conclusion that insulin acts in vivo to suppress hepatic very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) triglyceride and apoB secretion and strengthen the concept of a regulatory role for insulin in VLDL metabolism postprandially.
Social epistemology, contextualism and the division of labour

Egan and Shera (1952) proposed the creation of a new discipline called ‘social epistemology’ that would examine the practices employed within communities for the acquisition, distribution and utilization of knowledge. Let us call these ‘epistemic practices’. They also noted that such an examination does not have to await  nal answers to all epistemic dif culties that arise on the individual level. Contextualism, however, creates dif culties on the individual level that only intensify as we begin to inquire about knowledge as a social phenomenon. Contextualists hold that the standards the belief must meet to qualify as propositional knowledge vary by context. In effect, this means in one situation a set of reasons r would be suf cient for S to know proposition p. In another situation however, the exact same reasons r would not be suf cient for S to know p. We will examine both the advantages contextualism provides, as well as the way in which it can disrupt the distribution of knowledge in a community. Such disruptions could prove particularly detrimental to information scientists. After examining the problem, I will turn to the method by which I believe communities balance contextualism in practice with the need to distribute knowledge effectively. My aim is to provide a framework for analysis that will aid information scientists in sharpening the epistemic norms that govern the transmission of knowledge throughout the community.
Social factors and mortality in the old-old in Israel: the CALAS study.

OBJECTIVES Using a theoretical framework that divided social factors measures into structure, function, and social engagement, this study determined those aspects of social networks most significantly associated with 8-year, all-cause mortality among the old-old in Israel. METHODS Jews (n = 1,340) aged 75-94 living in Israel on January 1, 1989, were randomly selected from the National Population Register; stratified by age, sex, and place of birth; and interviewed in person. Mortality was determined according to the National Death Registry (December 1997). RESULTS After controlling for sociodemographics and measures of health, cognitive status, depressive symptoms, and physical function, the measures of social engagement that explicitly involved others were associated with a lower risk of mortality. No measure of the function of the social network was associated with risk of mortality. Living in the community without a spouse and with a child and living in an institution were significantly associated with a higher risk of mortality. DISCUSSION The finding that participating in activities with people outside of the immediate family is associated with a lower risk of death has practical implications for helping the aging population and their families in their decision-making process. Lack of support for the hypothesis that those with more social support would show reduced risk of mortality may indicate that the positive effect of perceiving support and the negative effect of needing support may cancel each other out and result in no perceived effect. In this population, the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and the risk of mortality seems to be expressed through the living arrangements, with the sick and frail, both in institutions (higher SES) and in the community with a child or other (lower SES), having a higher risk of mortality. These findings are consistent with the use of children as a substitute for institutionalization, and imply that at least some cohabitation was the caretaking solution for the noninstitutionalized old-old who were of low SES, frail, and close to death.
Self-report ratings and informants' ratings of personalities of depressed outpatients.

OBJECTIVE This study sought to determine whether personality traits of depressed patients could be assessed similarly by informants and self-reports of the patients themselves. METHOD Forty-six depressed outpatients completed the self-report (first-person) version of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory and nominated informants who knew them well to complete the third-person version of that instrument. RESULTS Agreement between the self-ratings and informants' ratings on the five factors of the inventory--neuroticism, extraversion, openness-to-experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness--was high. The only significant difference between the self-ratings and informants' ratings was on the extraversion scale, where the patients rated themselves as significantly more introverted than did the informants. CONCLUSIONS Informants' ratings of personality are similar to self-report ratings of depressed patients. Depressed mood may not influence the self-report of personality traits.
An ant colony optimization algorithm for the mobile ad hoc network routing problem based on AODV protocol

In this paper, we present a modified on-demand routing algorithm for mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs). The proposed algorithm is based on both the standard Ad-hoc On-demand Distance Vector (AODV) protocol and ant colony based optimization. The modified routing protocol is highly adaptive, efficient and scalable. The main goal in the design of the protocol was to reduce the routing overhead, response time, end-to-end delay and increase the performance. We refer to the new modified protocol as the Multi-Route AODV Ant routing algorithm (MRAA).
Hyponatremia Improvement Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of Mortality: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis

Background Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte disorder and it is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. However, there is no clear demonstration that the improvement of serum sodium concentration ([Na+]) counteracts the increased risk of mortality associated with hyponatremia. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis that included the published studies that addressed the effect of hyponatremia improvement on mortality. Methods and Findings A Medline, Embase and Cochrane search was performed to retrieve all English-language studies of human subjects published up to June 30th 2014, using the following words: “hyponatremia”, “hyponatraemia”, “mortality”, “morbidity” and “sodium”. Fifteen studies satisfied inclusion criteria encompassing a total of 13,816 patients. The identification of relevant abstracts, the selection of studies and the subsequent data extraction were performed independently by two of the authors, and conflicts resolved by a third investigator. Across all fifteen studies, any improvement of hyponatremia was associated with a reduced risk of overall mortality (OR=0.57[0.40-0.81]). The association was even stronger when only those studies (n=8) reporting a threshold for serum [Na+] improvement to >130 mmol/L were considered (OR=0.51[0.31-0.86]). The reduced mortality rate persisted at follow-up (OR=0.55[0.36-0.84] at 12 months). Meta-regression analyses showed that the reduced mortality associated with hyponatremia improvement was more evident in older subjects and in those with lower serum [Na+] at enrollment. Conclusions This meta-analysis documents for the first time that improvement in serum [Na+] in hyponatremic patients is associated with a reduction of overall mortality.
Le tabac en France: Les vrais chiffres

Edited by Catherine Hill, Agnes Laplanche. Villejuif (Paris): Published by Institut Gustave Roussy, 2004, pp 140. ISBN 2-11-005616-9. Tobacco use in France In this slim but ambitious volume, epidemiologists Catherine Hill and Agnes Laplanche have assembled all available French surveys on tobacco sales and consumption going back to 1860. The authors …
Optimal control allocation for an ASC with two azimuth-like thrusters with limited panning range

This paper presents a method to efficiently solve the control allocation problem of vessels propelled by two azimuth thrusters with limited panning range. The use of rotatable thrusters results in a configuration matrix that, in the context of control allocation, typically leads to a constrained nonlinear optimization problem. It is shown, how this can be transformed into an easy to solve scalar unconstrained problem by using simple geometrical relations. Using a cost criterion from the literature for minimum power consumption, however, leads to discontinuities due to the limited panning angle range of the thrusters. By introducing a parameterized cost function, the discontinuities in the panning motion of the thrusters can be largely avoided.