Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The demography of modern social transformations

This dissertation examines three contemporary social phenomena—globalization, the rise of secondary and tertiary education, and dramatic changes in marriage and divorce—and their relation to key demographic processes. This set of topics is purposely broad, in order to demonstrate the importance of interlinkages between demography and the social world. Classical demographic techniques can be extended to provide a toolkit through which one can investigate and provide insight into a diverse set of social processes. Chapter I examines the relationship between globalization and contemporary fertility transitions. Fertility transitions have been studied since the inception of the field of demography, but we still have a limited understanding of how they arise, progress, and diffuse across populations. I test the theory that since 1960, global normative forces led to fertility transitions in many developing countries. I show that countries that are more connected through the global network have converged in fertility. In particular, poor countries engaged in trade with rich countries have converged towards the fertility rates of their rich trade partners. Chapter II considers how the changing educational distribution in the United States has shaped educational differentials in life expectancy. Though educational gradients in longevity have widened since 1990, many have questioned whether this widening is due to people with less than high school becoming a smaller, increasingly select group. I use a composition-adjusted life expectancy measure to show that much of the change in education-specific life expectancy can be attributed to changing educational composition. Adjusting for compositional change shows that life expectancy gradients have not widened by nearly as much as we thought. Chapter III traces out the history of American marriage since 1960. I develop and extend two-sex models of the marital life cycle to quantify how changes in marriage, divorce, mortality, and assortative mating have shaped marital life cycles. I find that there has been an educational divergence in marriage and divorce, and demonstrate that much of the truncation in marriage can be attributed to later age at marriage and higher rates of divorce, but is partly offset by lower mortality and more extensive marital sorting. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Demography First Advisor Irma T. Elo
Cinnamaldehyde Derivatives Inhibit Coxsackievirus B3-Induced Viral Myocarditis

The chemical property of cinnamaldehyde is unstable in vivo, although early experiments have shown its obvious therapeutic effects on viral myocarditis (VMC). To overcome this problem, we used cinnamaldehyde as a leading compound to synthesize derivatives. Five derivatives of cinnamaldehyde were synthesized: 4-methylcinnamaldehyde (1), 4-chlorocinnamaldehyde (2), 4-methoxycinnamaldehyde (3), α-bromo-4-methylcinnamaldehyde (4), and α-bromo-4-chlorocinnamaldehyde (5). Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes and HeLa cells infected by coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) were used to evaluate their antiviral and cytotoxic effects. In vivo BALB/c mice were infected with CVB3 for establishing VMC models. Among the derivatives, compound 4 and 5 inhibited the CVB3 in HeLa cells with the half-maximal inhibitory concentrations values of 11.38 ± 2.22 μM and 2.12 ± 0.37 μM, respectively. The 50% toxic concentrations of compound 4 and 5-treated cells were 39-fold and 87-fold higher than in the cinnamaldehyde group. Compound 4 and 5 effectively reduced the viral titers and cardiac pathological changes in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, compound 4 and 5 significantly inhibited the secretion, mRNA and protein expressions of inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in CVB3-infected cardiomyocytes, indicating that brominated cinnamaldehyde not only improved the anti-vital activities for VMC, but also had potent anti-inflammatory effects in cardiomyocytes induced by CVB3.
Towards compelling cases for the viability of silicon-nanophotonic technology in future manycore systems

Many crossbenchmarking results reported in the open literature provide optimistic expectations on the use of optical networks-on-chip (ONoCs) for high-performance and low-power on-chip communication in future manycore systems. The goal of this paper is to highlight key methodological steps for a realistic assessment of the emerging nanophotonic technology. Building on this methodology, the paper provides an accurate energy efficiency comparison between an ONoC and an ENoC counterpart both at the level of the system interconnect and of the system as a whole. As a result, the paper points out the most promising directions for the development of the technology for the sake of practical relevance, and confirms that the technology has potential based on a characterization methodology with uncommon cross-layer visibility.
Review: Grazing preferences in sheep and cattle: Implications for production, the environment and animal welfare

The evolutionary and domestic ancestors of sheep and cattle will have evolved diet selection behaviours that enabled them to select a diet that met their individual nutrient requirements whilst minimising the risk of being killed through predation or by eating toxins. Modern intensive farming generally involves grazing monocultures or feeding total mixed rations and these restrict the ability of livestock to select their own diet. Research has shown that grazing sheep and cattle have a partial preference of approximately 70% for clover (when offered as a monoculture sward alongside grass), and they show a consistent diurnal pattern of preference. Dairy cattle and sheep that are given the ability to select their own diet show higher levels of production than animals grazing mixed swards. There is some evidence that animals that can select their own diet are optimising their own efficiency of nutrient capture, and this potential environmental benefit warrants further research. Further research is also neede.
Internet dating and respectable women: Gender expectations in an untraditional partnership and marriage market - the case of Slovenia

Some theoreticians support notions of the Internet as a media that makes the social differences of those who use it irrelevant or at least less important. The Internet is also often regarded as a medium that improves the free expression of thoughts and wishes of marginalised groups that cannot express themselves in face-to-face relationships due to several normative obstacles. The article deals with the question of gendered normativity related to expressions of femininity in the case of building of intimate romantic partnership within Internet dating. It is based on data gathered by qualitative research. 66 in-depth semi-structured interviews with 34 men and 32 women with Internet dating experiences were conducted in Slovenia in order to get insight into several sociological aspects of internet dating, among which question of gendered expectations related to partnership and family building will be discussed in article. Results show traditional expectations of gender roles are more pervasive as could be expected. Traditional normative understandings of gender were identified especially in the field of expectations related to women and womanhood and were revealed in men’s hierarchical positioning of women regarding their status, in women’s endeavours to present themselves as respectable and in men’s disapproval of women’s sexualities.
An Information Criterion for Likelihood Selection

For a given source distribution, we establish properties of the conditional density achieving the rate distortion function lower bound as the distortion parameter varies. In the limit as the distortion tolerated goes to zero, the conditional density achieving the rate distortion function lower bound becomes degenerate in the sense that the channel it defines becomes error-free. As the permitted distortion increases to its limit, the conditional density achieving the rate distortion function lower bound defines a channel which no longer depends on the source distribution. In addition to the data compression motivation, we establish two results-one asymptotic, one nonasymptotic-showing that the the conditional densities achieving the rate distortion function lower bound make relatively weak assumptions on the dependence between the source and its representation. This corresponds, in Bayes estimation, to choosing a likelihood which makes relatively weak assumptions on the data generating mechanism if the source is regarded as a prior. Taken together, these results suggest one can use the conditional density obtained from the rate distortion function in data analysis. That is, when it is impossible to identify a "true" parametric family on the basis of physical modeling, our results provide both data compression and channel coding justification for using the conditional density achieving the rate distortion function lower bound as a likelihood.
Framing ideology in the niche media

The role of niche media in discursively constructing and deconstructing powerful ideas is often underestimated. Using the 2004 `Redfern riots' as a case study, this article investigates how ideological elements of the riots were framed by the Koori Mail, a fortnightly niche Indigenous publication, compared to the more mainstream Sydney Morning Herald and Daily Telegraph. The research is conducted through a frame analysis of 155 media texts from these three newspapers. In comparing the niche and mainstream media, the contribution of the niche media to the contested nature of debate within the mediated public sphere is evident. By keeping the riots within a socio-political frame, the Koori Mail actively reframed dominant ideological constructions of racial identity and were able to construct a more nuanced and politicized critique of the riots than that offered by the two mainstream papers.
Nonfatal occupational injuries from slips, trips, and falls among older workers treated in hospital emergency departments, United States 1998.

BACKGROUND Falls are a leading cause of injury among older adults. As the workforce demographics shift to an older population, the dearth of information on occupational falls among older adults must be addressed. METHODS A national probability sample of hospital emergency departments (EDs) (National Electronic Injury Surveillance System) was utilized to characterize falls at work. RESULTS Older workers were found not to be at increased risk of a fall injury, but were more likely than younger workers to be hospitalized post-injury. Same-level falls were the most common type of incident among older workers. Falls from height were more prevalent among men than women. The narrative case descriptions for same-level falls to the floor primarily implicated floor contamination and tripping hazards. CONCLUSIONS Fall prevention programs targeted to older workers must examine extrinsic sources of falls, particularly surface traction, contaminant control, and footwear.
Real-time imaging of histone H4 hyperacetylation in living cells

To visualize histone acetylation in living cells, we developed a genetically encoded fluorescent resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based indicator. Response of the indicator reflects changes in the acetylation state of both K5 and K8 in histone H4. Using this acetylation indicator, we were able to monitor the dynamic fluctuation of histone H4 acetylation levels during mitosis, as well as acetylation changes in response to structurally distinct histone deacetylase inhibitors.
RADIAL BASIS FUNCTION NEURAL NETWORK FOR SOFTWARE ENGINEERING MEASURES - A SURVEY

In software quality, the software reliability is the very essential part where it has the capability to manage its individual functions at various conditions. Now-a-days, Software measurements are entirely depends on different techniques like Fuzzy Logic, Neural Network, and Genetic Algorithm etc. This paper reviews SVM (Support Vector Machine) and RBFN to the issues of software measurement in order to increase the correctness as well as the performance. RBF (Radial Basis Function) and SVM has some secure relationship among them where they both are identified in many applications like in face verification, optical character recognition, text categorization and object detection etc. The results examines both the performance analyzes about RBFN and SVM Gaussian Radial Basis Kernel Function. This paper also compares the RBFN and SVM with parameter MRE.
Practice Note: Marital Mediation: A Psychological Perspective

This article describes marital mediation, a process that uses established mediation techniques to improve relationships, and its similarities to and differences from marital counseling. It also looks at the process from a psychological perspective, exploring aspects of the methodology that may explain its effectiveness in cases where counseling has failed. Finally, the need for marital mediation is discussed.
Modem communication techniques between the work station and the web server used for practical applications in the electrical field

This paper pleads for a definition of e-learning including also the remote access of the experimental stands (assemblies) equipped with computerized measurement systems. There are also listed the possibilities offered by Lab VIEW programming environment for developing applications with the Internet communication facilities. Regarding these aspects the work shows types of communication used by the Lab VIEW graphical programming environment in general and for electrical laboratory work in particular, emphasizing the advantages of using a communication environment instead of another, and the disadvantages of using these types of Internet communication.
Trace Elements Induce Predominance among Methanogenic Activity in Anaerobic Digestion

Trace elements (TE) play an essential role in all organisms due to their functions in enzyme complexes. In anaerobic digesters, control, and supplementation of TEs lead to stable and more efficient methane production processes while TE deficits cause process imbalances. However, the underlying metabolic mechanisms and the adaptation of the affected microbial communities to such deficits are not yet fully understood. Here, we investigated the microbial community dynamics and resulting process changes induced by TE deprivation. Two identical lab-scale continuous stirred tank reactors fed with distiller’s grains and supplemented with TEs (cobalt, molybdenum, nickel, tungsten) and a commercial iron additive were operated in parallel. After 72 weeks of identical operation, the feeding regime of one reactor was changed by omitting TE supplements and reducing the amount of iron additive. Both reactors were operated for further 21 weeks. Various process parameters (biogas production and composition, total solids and volatile solids, TE concentration, volatile fatty acids, total ammonium nitrogen, total organic acids/alkalinity ratio, and pH) and the composition and activity of the microbial communities were monitored over the total experimental time. While the methane yield remained stable, the concentrations of hydrogen sulfide, total ammonia nitrogen, and acetate increased in the TE-depleted reactor compared to the well-supplied control reactor. Methanosarcina and Methanoculleus dominated the methanogenic communities in both reactors. However, the activity ratio of these two genera was shown to depend on TE supplementation explainable by different TE requirements of their energy conservation systems. Methanosarcina dominated the well-supplied anaerobic digester, pointing to acetoclastic methanogenesis as the dominant methanogenic pathway. Under TE deprivation, Methanoculleus and thus hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis was favored although Methanosarcina was not overgrown by Methanoculleus. Multivariate statistics revealed that the decline of nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, tungsten, and manganese most strongly influenced the balance of mcrA transcripts from both genera. Hydrogenotrophic methanogens seem to be favored under nickel- and cobalt-deficient conditions as their metabolism requires less nickel-dependent enzymes and corrinoid cofactors than the acetoclastic and methylotrophic pathways. Thus, TE supply is critical to sustain the activity of the versatile high-performance methanogen Methanosarcina.
Behavioral assessment of unilateral neglect: study of the psychometric properties of the Catherine Bergego Scale.

OBJECTIVE To assess the psychometric properties of a scale for spatial neglect in everyday life. DESIGN Validation study. SETTING A neurologic rehabilitation unit in a university hospital. PARTICIPANTS Eighty-three consecutive right-hemisphere stroke patients. INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The Catherine Bergego Scale (CBS) was used to assess neglect behavior and anosognosia. Its sensitivity was compared with that of 3 conventional tests. The inner structure of the scale was studied by principal component analysis. In addition, linearity, unidimensionality, and reliability of the scale were tested through Rasch analysis. RESULTS Behavioral assessment correlated significantly to, but was more sensitive than, conventional tests. Anosognosia correlated significantly with neglect severity, although individual dissociations occurred. Factorial analysis disclosed a single underlying factor, explaining 65.8% of total variance. Rasch analysis also revealed that the 10 items defined a common, single ability continuum with widespread measurement range and quite regular item distribution, and showed a satisfactory reliability. CONCLUSION Behavioral assessment proved to be more sensitive than conventional paper and pencil tasks. Both conventional statistics and Rasch analysis suggest that the CBS is reliable and valid, and that the 10 items define a homogeneous construct.
A medical assessment algorithm for automated remote triage

Ascertaining the medical status of soldiers deployed in the battlefield is essential for medical and strategic decision-making. The diagnostic and treatment methods used in the battlefield are currently suboptimal due to limited field resources and communication mechanisms. The system described herein is designed to remotely assess the medical status of deployed soldiers to augment resources of the medic, promoting more efficient and timely treatment of battlefield injuries. Key components of this combat casualty care system are an intelligent mobile agent information management network, a sensor capable of collecting pertinent physiological data, an assessment and alert algorithm, an ad hoc wireless routing system, and a user interface. The focus of this paper is on the development and preliminary evaluation of our medical model and assessment algorithms, which were implemented using hard-coded rules and a fuzzy logic approach. We discuss results of our initial simulations, the limitations of our medical model, and present a strategy for testing and improving different implementations of our model.
News Comments: Exploring, Modeling, and Online Prediction (Abstract)

Online news agents provide commenting facilities for their readers to express their opinions or sentiments with regards to news stories. The number of user supplied comments on a news article may be indicative of its importance, interestingness, or impact. We explore the news comments space, and compare the log-normal and the negative binomial distributions for modeling comments from various news agents. These estimated models can be used to normalize raw comment counts and enable comparison across different news sites. We also examine the feasibility of online prediction of the number of comments, based on the volume observed shortly after publication. We report on solid performance for predicting news comment volume in the long run, after short observation. This prediction can be useful for identifying potentially “hot” news stories, and can be used to support front page optimization for news sites.
Measures of Perceived Interactivity: An Exploration of the Role of Direction of Communication, User Control, and Time in Shaping Perceptions of Interactivity

Abstract Interactivity is an often mentioned but seldom operationalized concept associated with the World Wide Web. Interactivity has been positioned conceptually as a process, a function, and a perception, but most operational definitions have focused on the process or function. This study develops scales to operationalize the perception-based approach to interactivity, because consumer perceptions are central to advertising research. Three overlapping constructs that are central to interactivity are explored: direction of communication, user control, and time. A multistage method is used to identify and refine measures of perceived interactivity (MPI). The 18 items included in the MPI offer researchers a tool for measuring a consumer perception central to advertising on the Web.
A twofold approach to object and avatar data management in P2P-based virtual environments

In P2P-based Virtual Environments (VEs), the efficient distribution and management of avatar and object states remains highly challenging. Objects change their states, but less frequently their positions in the VE. On the other hand, avatars frequently change their positions in the VE. The characteristic differences between objects and avatars generally lead P2P VE systems to focus on, and manage only, one of them. This paper addresses this issue, and proposes a twofold approach to data management in P2P-based VEs. Our system combines a structured P2P overlay used for object state management with a triangulation overlay used for avatar state and group membership management. Our system avoids overloading a given manager when avatar clustering occurs by using a flexible overlay for avatar management, while preventing unnecessary entity data transfer between managers by using a more stable assignment of objects to managers independently from avatars' positions in the VE. The performance and limitations of our system are shown by simulation results.
MSAProbs-MPI: parallel multiple sequence aligner for distributed-memory systems

MSAProbs is a state-of-the-art protein multiple sequence alignment tool based on hidden Markov models. It can achieve high alignment accuracy at the expense of relatively long runtimes for large-scale input datasets. In this work we present MSAProbs-MPI, a distributed-memory parallel version of the multithreaded MSAProbs tool that is able to reduce runtimes by exploiting the compute capabilities of common multicore CPU clusters. Our performance evaluation on a cluster with 32 nodes (each containing two Intel Haswell processors) shows reductions in execution time of over one order of magnitude for typical input datasets. Furthermore, MSAProbs-MPI using eight nodes is faster than the GPU-accelerated QuickProbs running on a Tesla K20. Another strong point is that MSAProbs-MPI can deal with large datasets for which MSAProbs and QuickProbs might fail due to time and memory constraints, respectively. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION Source code in C ++ and MPI running on Linux systems as well as a reference manual are available at http://msaprobs.sourceforge. net CONTACT: jgonzalezd@udc.esSupplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.