Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ACS Photometry of Newly Discovered Globular Clusters in the Outer Halo of M31

We report the first results from deep ACS imaging of 10 classical globular clusters in the far outer regions (15 kpc ≲ Rp ≲ 100 kpc) of M31. Eight of the clusters, including two of the most remote M31 globular clusters presently known, are described for the first time. Our F606W, F814W color-magnitude diagrams extend ~3 mag below the horizontal branch and clearly demonstrate that the majority of these objects are old (≳10 Gyr), metal-poor clusters. Five have [Fe/H] ~ -2.1, while an additional four have -1.9 ≲ [Fe/H] ≲ -1.5. The remaining object is more metal-rich, with [Fe/H] ~ -0.70. Several clusters exhibit the second-parameter effect. Using aperture photometry, we estimate integrated luminosities and structural parameters for all clusters. Many, including all four clusters with projected radii greater than 45 kpc, are compact and very luminous, with -8.9 ≲ MV ≲ -8.3. These four outermost clusters are thus quite unlike their Milky Way counterparts, which are typically diffuse, subluminous (-6.0 ≲ MV ≲ -4.7), and more metal-rich (-1.8 ≲ [Fe/H] ≲ -1.3).
Bällchen is required for self-renewal of germline stem cells in Drosophila melanogaster

ABSTRACT Self-renewing stem cells are pools of undifferentiated cells, which are maintained in cellular niche environments by distinct tissue-specific signalling pathways. In Drosophila melanogaster, female germline stem cells (GSCs) are maintained in a somatic niche of the gonads by BMP signalling. Here we report a novel function of the Drosophila kinase Bällchen (BALL), showing that its cell autonomous role is to maintain the self-renewing capacity of female GSCs independent of BMP signalling. ball mutant GSCs are eliminated from the niche and subsequently differentiate into mature eggs, indicating that BALL is largely dispensable for differentiation. Similar to female GSCs, BALL is required to maintain self-renewal of male GSCs, suggesting a tissue independent requirement of BALL for self-renewal of germline stem cells.
Replacing Locks by Higher-Level

Locks are used in shared memory parallel programs to achieve a variety of synchronization objectives. They may provide mutual exclusion for a critical section, or they may provide synchronized access to a task queue. In the former case, no ordering is implied between data operations outside of the critical sections, while in the latter case the operations preceding the enqueue of a task are ordered before the operations following a dequeue of that task. In this paper we argue that many uses of locks can be replaced by higher-level primitives that directly express the intended behavior, such as, for example, enqueue and dequeue operations on a task queue. This approach not only simpliies the programming model, but also allows a more eecient implementation. By making the intended use explicit, we can tailor the implementation of each primitive accordingly, thereby achieving reductions in latency and communication overhead. Synchronization latency has been shown to be one of the major impediments for achieving high performance, especially on software distributed shared memory systems. We demonstrate the beneets of our approach by comparing the performance on the TreadMarks distributed shared memory system of lock-based implementations of four applications (TSP, Quicksort, Water, and ILINK) to new implementations using the higher-level primitives. For each of the four applications, the high-level primitives lead to simpler programs with better performance.
Ethico-legal aspects of hospital-based blood transfusion practice ; implications of professional negligence to medical practitioners : a

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial, share-alike use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Ethico-legal aspects of hospital-based blood transfusion practice; implications of professional negligence to medical practitioners: a review
Resting state connectivity of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis at ultra‐high field

The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a portion of the “extended amygdala,” is implicated in the pathophysiology of anxiety and addiction disorders. Its small size and connection to other small regions prevents standard imaging techniques from easily capturing it and its connectivity with confidence. Seed‐based resting state functional connectivity is an established method for mapping functional connections across the brain from a region of interest. We, therefore, mapped the BNST resting state network with high spatial resolution using 7 Tesla fMRI, demonstrating the in vivo reproduction of many human BNST connections previously described only in animal research. We identify strong BNST functional connectivity in amygdala, hippocampus and thalamic subregions, caudate, periaqueductal gray, hypothalamus, and cortical areas such as the medial PFC and precuneus. This work, which demonstrates the power of ultra‐high field for mapping functional connections in the human, is an important step toward elucidating cortical and subcortical regions and subregions of the BNST network. Hum Brain Mapp 36:4076–4088, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A Hyperplane-Based Algorithm for Semi-Supervised Dimension Reduction

We consider the semi-supervised dimension reduction problem: given a high dimensional dataset with a small number of labeled data and huge number of unlabeled data, the goal is to find the low-dimensional embedding that yields good classification results. Most of the previous algorithms for this task are linkage-based algorithms. They try to enforce the must-link and cannot-link constraints in dimension reduction, leading to a nearest neighbor classifier in low dimensional space. In this paper, we propose a new hyperplane-based semi-supervised dimension reduction method—the main objective is to learn the low-dimensional features that can both approximate the original data and form a good separating hyperplane. We formulate this as a non-convex optimization problem and propose an efficient algorithm to solve it. The algorithm can scale to problems with millions of features and can easily incorporate non-negative constraints in order to learn interpretable non-negative features. Experiments on real world datasets demonstrate that our hyperplane-based dimension reduction method outperforms state-of-art linkage-based methods when very few labels are available.
Maximum likelihood estimation of regression parameters with spatially dependent discrete data

Generalized estimating equations (GEEs) have been successfully used to estimate regression parameters from discrete longitudinal data. GEEs have been adapted for spatially correlated count data with less success. It is convenient to model correlated counts as lognormal-Poisson, where a latent lognormal random process carries all correlation. This model limits correlation and can lead to negative bias of standard errors. Moreover, correlation is not the best dependence measure for highly nonnormal data. This article proposes a model which yields maximum likelihood (ML) estimates of regression parameters when the response is discrete and spatially dependent. This model employs a spatial Gaussian copula, bringing the discrete distribution into the Gaussian geostatistical framework, where correlation completely describes dependence. The model yields a log-likelihood for regression parameters that can be maximized using established numerical methods. The proposed procedure is used to estimate the relationship between Japanese beetle grub counts and soil organic matter. These data exhibit residual correlation well above the lognormal-Poisson correlation limit, so that model is not appropriate. The data and MATLAB code are available online. Simulations demonstrate that negative bias in GEE standard errors leads to nominal 95% confidence coverage less than 62% for moderate or strong spatial dependence, whereas ML coverage remains above 82%.
TOWARDS A CLOUD-BASED DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING PARADIGM: LOOKING BACKWARD, LOOKING FORWARD

The rise of cloud computing is radically changing the way enterprises manage their information technology (IT) assets. Considering the benefits of cloud computing to the information technology sector, we present a review of current research initiatives and applications of the cloud computing paradigm related to product design and manufacturing. In particular, we focus on exploring the potential of utilizing cloud computing for selected aspects of collaborative design, distributed manufacturing, collective innovation, data mining, semantic web technology, and virtualization. In addition, we propose to expand the paradigm of cloud computing to the field of computer-aided design and manufacturing and propose a new concept of cloud-based design and manufacturing (CBDM). Specifically, we (1) propose a comprehensive definition of CBDM; (2) discuss its key characteristics; (3) relate current research in design and manufacture to CBDM; and (4) identify key research issues and future trends. © 2012 ASME
An integrated LMS adaptive filter of TX leakage for CDMA receiver front ends

The theory and practical implementation of an adaptive filter of the TX leakage in CDMA receivers are described. The filter uses a continuous-time signa-data LMS algorithm. It was designed as part of a 0.25 /spl mu/m CMOS cellular-band receiver. It achieved the maximum rejection of the TX leakage of 28-30 dB, which was limited by the reference signal leakage to the LNA output. The LNA NF and gain degraded by 1.3 dB and 1.7 dB respectively after adding the filter.
Increasing the Analytical Sensitivity by Oligonucleotides Modified with Para- and Ortho-Twisted Intercalating Nucleic Acids – TINA

The sensitivity and specificity of clinical diagnostic assays using DNA hybridization techniques are limited by the dissociation of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) antiparallel duplex helices. This situation can be improved by addition of DNA stabilizing molecules such as nucleic acid intercalators. Here, we report the synthesis of a novel ortho-Twisted Intercalating Nucleic Acid (TINA) amidite utilizing the phosphoramidite approach, and examine the stabilizing effect of ortho- and para-TINA molecules in antiparallel DNA duplex formation. In a thermal stability assay, ortho- and para-TINA molecules increased the melting point (Tm) of Watson-Crick based antiparallel DNA duplexes. The increase in Tm was greatest when the intercalators were placed at the 5′ and 3′ termini (preferable) or, if placed internally, for each half or whole helix turn. Terminally positioned TINA molecules improved analytical sensitivity in a DNA hybridization capture assay targeting the Escherichia coli rrs gene. The corresponding sequence from the Pseudomonas aeruginosa rrs gene was used as cross-reactivity control. At 150 mM ionic strength, analytical sensitivity was improved 27-fold by addition of ortho-TINA molecules and 7-fold by addition of para-TINA molecules (versus the unmodified DNA oligonucleotide), with a 4-fold increase retained at 1 M ionic strength. Both intercalators sustained the discrimination of mismatches in the dsDNA (indicated by ΔTm), unless placed directly adjacent to the mismatch – in which case they partly concealed ΔTm (most pronounced for para-TINA molecules). We anticipate that the presented rules for placement of TINA molecules will be broadly applicable in hybridization capture assays and target amplification systems.
Residual Renal Function in Children Treated with Chronic Peritoneal Dialysis

Residual renal function (RRF) in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) receiving renal replacement therapy is defined as the ability of native kidneys to eliminate water and uremic toxins. Preserved RRF improves survival and quality of life in adult ESRD patients treated with peritoneal dialysis. In children, RRF was shown not only to help preserve adequacy of renal replacement therapy but also to accelerate growth rate, improve nutrition and blood pressure control, reduce the risk of adverse myocardial changes, facilitate treatment of anemia and calcium-phosphorus balance abnormalities, and result in reduced serum and dialysate fluid levels of advanced glycation end-products. Factors contributing to RRF loss in children treated with peritoneal dialysis include the underlying renal disease such as hemolytic-uremic syndrome and hereditary nephropathy, small urine volume, severe proteinuria at the initiation of renal replacement therapy, and hypertension. Several approaches can be suggested to decrease the rate of RRF loss in pediatric patients treated with chronic peritoneal dialysis: potentially nephrotoxic drugs (e.g., aminoglycosides), episodes of hypotension, and uncontrolled hypertension should be avoided, urinary tract infections should be treated promptly, and loop diuretics may be used to increase salt and water excretion.
An instruction cache architecture for parallel execution of Java threads

Designing a Java processor supporting horizontal multithreading has become more attractive as network computing gains importance. Different from the traditional superscalar processors that issue multiple instructions from a single instruction stream to exploit the instruction level parallelism (ILP), the horizontal multithreading Java processors issue multiple instructions (bytecodes) from multiple threads in parallel to exploit not only the ILP but the thread level parallelism (TLP). Such processors have multiple dispatch slots and require the instruction fetch unit to supply instructions with much higher bandwidth than superscalar processors. Using a traditional superscalar cache architecture in a horizontal multithreading Java processor results in high cache miss ratio caused by the interference among the threads. We investigate multibank instruction cache architecture for horizontal multithreading Java processor to meet the requirements of the high instruction fetch bandwidth. In order to evaluate the cache performance as well as the horizontal multithreading Java processor performance, we developed a trace driven simulator. The simulator consists of a trace generator that generates the Java bytecode execution traces and an architectural simulator that reads the traces and evaluates the performance of the instruction cache and the overall performance of the Java processor. Our simulation results show that the performance improvements are obtained by the low cache miss ratio and the high instruction fetch bandwidth of the proposed cache architecture. The IPC performance is about 19 when both the number of slots and the number of banks are 8, about 5 times better than one bank cache.
The Role of Subjective knowledge and Perceived Consequences in Shaping Attitude and Intention Toward Digital Piracy

Abstract Digital piracy represents a significant threat, especially to music, film and software industry worldwide. In order to provide insights into consumer behavior related to digital piracy, this study aimed at developing and empirically testing the role of subjective knowledge and three types of expected consequences (i.e., perceived benefits, moral intensity, perceived risk) as antecedents of attitude toward digital piracy and intention to pirate digital content. In view of the existing literature, the purpose of this research was twofold: (a) to develop a conceptual model of consumer’s attitude and intention to pirate, and (b) to empirically test the role of subjective knowledge, perceived benefits, moral intensity and perceived risk as antecedents of consumers’ attitude toward pirating, as well as the role of subjective knowledge, perceived benefits, and attitude as antecedents of intention to pirate. The hypotheses were tested by collecting data via self-administered mail survey sent to an initial sample of 10,000 adult consumers in Slovenia, yielding a usable random sample of 843 consumers. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results of the study show that moral intensity and perceived risk do not play an important role in shaping one’s attitude toward piracy, while subjective knowledge and perceived benefits exhibit a statistically significant impact upon both, attitude toward digital piracy and intention to pirate. In addition, consistent with previous studies, attitude is a significant predictor of behavioral intention. Taking into consideration the specifics of the selected context, it is hoped that this study contributes to a better understanding of the demand side of digital piracy.
Error analysis of Chinese text segmentation using statistical approach

The Chinese text segmentation is important for the indexing of Chinese documents, which has significant impact on the performance of Chinese information retrieval. The statistical approach overcomes the limitations of the dictionary based approach. The statistical approach is developed by utilizing the statistical information about the association of adjacent characters in Chinese text collected from the Chinese corpus. Both known words and unknown words can be segmented by the statistical approach. However, errors may occur due to the limitation of the corpus. In this work, we have conducted the error analysis of two Chinese text segmentation techniques using statistical approach, namely, boundary detection and heuristic method. Such error analysis is useful for the future development of the automatic text segmentation of Chinese text or other text in oriental languages. It is also helpful to understand the impact of these errors on the information retrieval system in digital libraries.
Accurate client-server based speech recognition keeping personal data on the client

In this paper, a novel technique is proposed that recognizes speech on a server but all private knowledge is processed on the client. Private knowledge could be address book entries, calendar entries or medical patient data. The technique combines the advantage of a powerful server with almost unlimited memory and the advantage using locally available user dependent knowledge. A dynamic language model is used to recognize speech with the help of content dependent acoustic fillers on a server. The result is then recognized including user dependent knowledge on a client, e.g., a smart phone. We achieved a word error rate reduction of 17% on the Wall Street Journal Corpus.
Aβ Peptide Fibrillar Architectures Controlled by Conformational Constraints of the Monomer

Anomalous self-assembly of the Aβ peptide into fibrillar amyloid deposits is strongly correlated with the development of Alzheimer's disease. Aβ fibril extension follows a template guided “dock and lock” mechanism where polymerisation is catalysed by the fibrillar ends. Using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and quenched hydrogen-deuterium exchange NMR (H/D-exchange NMR), we have analysed the fibrillar structure and polymerisation properties of both the highly aggregation prone Aβ1–40 Glu22Gly (Aβ40Arc) and wild type Aβ1–40 (Aβ40WT). The solvent protection patterns from H/D exchange experiments suggest very similar structures of the fibrillar forms. However, through cross-seeding experiments monitored by SPR, we found that the monomeric form of Aβ40WT is significantly impaired to acquire the fibrillar architecture of Aβ40Arc. A detailed characterisation demonstrated that Aβ40WT has a restricted ability to dock and isomerise with high binding affinity onto Aβ40Arc fibrils. These results have general implications for the process of fibril assembly, where the rate of polymerisation, and consequently the architecture of the formed fibrils, is restricted by conformational constraints of the monomers. Interestingly, we also found that the kinetic rate of fibril formation rather than the thermodynamically lowest energy state determines the overall fibrillar structure.
CHANGING RISK PERCEPTIONS: THE ROLE OF THE MASS MEDIA

This paper considers whether a programme designed to influence individual driver behaviour could be adapted for mass media use. series of experiments were carried out using televised scenes whi contained varying degrees of blameworthiness and severity. A con experiment was carried out using a questionnaire that required judgement of a number of driver perceptions and intentions. In subsequent experiments subjects were shown a video before they a) answered the questions, b) imagined they were involved in the sce before answering the questions, c) answered the questions after a delay or d) assessed the severity of blameworthinness, effectiven and realism of the video. The videos were found to be effective modifying responses, particularly when the driver felt involved. Realism was also found to be important. For the covering abstract IRRD 873938.
The burden of child maltreatment in China: a systematic review

Abstract Objective To estimate the health and economic burdens of child maltreatment in China. Methods We did a systematic review for studies on child maltreatment in China using PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, CINAHL-EBSCO, ERIC and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases. We did meta-analyses of studies that met inclusion criteria to estimate the prevalence of child neglect and child physical, emotional and sexual abuse. We used data from the 2010 global burden of disease estimates to calculate disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) lost as a result of child maltreatment. Findings From 68 studies we estimated that 26.6% of children under 18 years of age have suffered physical abuse, 19.6% emotional abuse, 8.7% sexual abuse and 26.0% neglect. We estimate that emotional abuse in childhood accounts for 26.3% of the DALYs lost because of mental disorders and 18.0% of those lost because of self-harm. Physical abuse in childhood accounts for 12.2% of DALYs lost because of depression, 17.0% of those lost to anxiety, 20.7% of those lost to problem drinking, 18.8% of those lost to illicit drug use and 18.3% of those lost to self-harm. The consequences of physical abuse of children costs China an estimated 0.84% of its gross domestic product – i.e. 50 billion United States dollars – in 2010. The corresponding losses attributable to emotional and sexual abuse in childhood were 0.47% and 0.39% of the gross domestic product, respectively. Conclusion In China, child maltreatment is common and associated with large economic losses because many maltreated children suffer substantial psychological distress and might adopt behaviours that increase their risk of chronic disease.