Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The faint outer regions of the Pegasus dwarf irregular galaxy: A much larger and undisturbed galaxy

We investigate the spatial extent and structure of the Pegasus dwarf irregular galaxy (PegDIG) using deep, wide-field, multicolour CCD photometry from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and new deep H I observations. We study an area of ∼0.6 deg 2 centred on the Pegasus dwarf that was imaged by the SDSS. Using effective filtering in colour–magnitude space, we reduce the contamination by foreground Galactic field stars and significantly increase the contrast in the outer regions of the Pegasus dwarf. Our extended surface photometry reaches down to a surface brightness magnitude μr � 32 mag arcsec −2 . It reveals a stellar body with a diameter of ∼8 kpc that follows a S´ surface brightness distribution law, which is composed of a significantly older stellar population than that observed in the ∼2 kpc main body. The galaxy is at least five times more extended than listed in the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. The faint extensions of the galaxy are not equally distributed around its circumference; the north-west end is more jagged than the south-east end. We also identified a number of stellar concentrations, possibly stellar associations, arranged in a ring around the main luminous body. New H I observations were collected at the Arecibo Observatory as part of the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA survey. They reveal an H I distribution somewhat elongated in RA and about 0. ◦ 3 wide, with the region of highest column density coincident with the luminous galaxy. The H I rotation curve shows a solid-body rotation behaviour, with opposite ends differing by 15 km s −1 . There is a stream to lower velocities about 5 arcmin from the centre of the galaxy. We were able to measure ugriz colours in a number of apertures using the SDSS data and compared these with predictions of evolutionary synthesis models. The results indicate that the outermost regions of the PegDIG are 5–10 Gyr old, while the inner kpc contains stars ∼1 Gyr old and younger. The colours correspond to K stars; earlier subclasses are located in the innermost parts of the galaxy. The PegDIG appears to be a relatively low-mass object, with
Multiparametric MR and PET Imaging of Intratumoral Biological Heterogeneity in Patients with Metastatic Lung Cancer Using Voxel-by-Voxel Analysis

Objectives Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) and imaging of glucose metabolism by positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) provide quantitative information on tissue characteristics. Combining the two methods might provide novel insights into tumor heterogeneity and biology. Here, we present a solution to analyze and visualize the relationship between the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and glucose metabolism on a spatially resolved voxel-by-voxel basis using dedicated quantitative software. Materials and Methods In 12 patients with non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the primary tumor or metastases were examined with DW-MRI and PET using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). The ADC’s from DW-MRI were correlated with standardized-uptake-values on a voxel-by-voxel basis using custom made software (Anima M3P). For cluster analysis, we used prospectively defined thresholds for 18F-FDG and ADC to define tumor areas of different biological activity. Results Combined analysis and visualization of ADC maps and PET data was feasible in all patients. Spatial analysis showed relatively homogeneous ADC values over the entire tumor area, whereas FDG showed a decreasing uptake towards the tumor center. As expected, restricted water diffusivity was notable in areas with high glucose metabolism but was also found in areas with lower glucose metabolism. In detail, 72% of all voxels showed low ADC values (<1.5x10-3 mm2/s) and high tracer uptake of 18F-FDG (SUV>3.6). However, 83% of the voxels with low FDG uptake also showed low ADC values, increasingly towards the tumor center. Conclusions Multiparametric analysis and visualization of DW-MRI and FDG-PET is feasible on a spatially resolved voxel-by-voxel respectively cluster basis using dedicated imaging software. Our preliminary data suggest that water diffusivity and glucose metabolism in metastatic NSCLC are not necessarily correlated in all tumor areas.
Exploring the spirituality and religiosity of Dinka Children in Catholic Schools in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria

This research explored the religiosity and spirituality of newly arrived Catholic Dinka children in Catholic schools in the western suburbs of Melbourne. In particular, the study focused on Dinka children’s spirituality borne of their experiences of war and trauma and sought to understand their perceptions of God, Jesus, Church and prayer. A disparity was highlighted between the available literature on children’s spirituality, (Hay & Nye, 1998; Hyde, 2005; Mountain, 2005), which presented findings from children who were ‘untraumatised’, with the predisposition of the Dinka children who were traumatised. The research aimed to identify incongruities between these and Catholic religious education assumptions in their schools. This qualitative research was guided by an epistemology of constructivism, which aimed at gathering a Dinka community narrative that was subjected to interpretive analysis, specifically phenomenological hermeneutics. iii" " Acknowledgements I acknowledge with gratitude and appreciation the following people who have helped me throughout this research. To my supervisor, Associate Professor Kathleen Engebretson and co-supervisor Doctor Brendan Hyde from the School of Religious Education, Australian Catholic University, I am sincerely grateful for their invaluable assistance, expertise, time and support. I am grateful to Dr Michael Buchanan and Dr Marian de Souza who read and commented on sections of my thesis. To my colleagues at Catholic Theological College I acknowledge with gratitude their support, and to Doctor Therese Power RSM I extend grateful thanks for proof reading my thesis. To Mr Stephen Elder, Director of the Catholic Education Office in Melbourne, I acknowledge with gratitude for allowing me to approach the schools to be involved in this research, and to the principals and staff who contributed to this study. To the Christian Brothers and especially those associated with the Edmund Rice Refugee Services, I express grateful thanks, and to Brother Sean McManus and Mr Andrew Ohide Ohuli for their support and practical assistance. To the Sudanese community in the western suburbs of Melbourne including the Dinka children, adolescents, parents, adults and tribal elders for whom it was my privilege to know and work beside. To my friends Anita Bowcock, Annette Clancy and Christine Creaser I express my heartfelt thanks for they helped me in very practical ways. To my faithful family, Michael, Dominique and Stuart, I thank them for their patience, and to my dog Skye for her companionship. I thank my husband Michael for believing in me. To my mother Maria Iris and father Nicholas Tanti, I thank them for their constant care and guidance. Finally, I dedicate this work to my late grandparents Maria Therese and Anthony Salnitro.
On Access-Based Self-Organized Clustering in Ad hoc Mobile Wireless Networks

Access-based clustering in a mobile ad hoc network generally builds on a broadcast mechanism in the shared radio channel to transmit control messages for cluster formation. Performances of two recently proposed access-based clustering schemes, namely, access-based clustering protocol (ABCP) and channel access-based clustering (CABC) are compared with the performance of a new clustering scheme, namely, mobility-aware pro-active low energy (MAPLE) clustering which overcomes the major limitations of the former two schemes. For pro-active clustering MAPLE exploits the link level information to estimate the mobility pattern of the wireless nodes and the cost of using a wireless link in terms of required transmission power. A channel reservation technique is used to reduce the number of contentions among the nodes while accessing the channel during cluster formation. Simulation results show that the proposed MAPLE clustering offers superior performance in terms of stability, clustering overhead and load distribution
Perceived transformational leadership style asdeterminant of subordinates’ trust perspectiveof Malaysian local authorities

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of transformational leadership style on subordinates’ trust using 300 questionnaires responded by the employees (support staff group) of local authorities (LAs) located in the central region of peninsular Malaysia.The measurement scale employed in this study has met the acceptable levels of validity and reliability tests of the study.However, performing confirmatory factor analysis based on structural equation modeling (SEM) has remained some items of single component of transformational leadership style.Thus, transformational leadership are measured based on single construct as a first order model analysis.Regression result of SEM analysis indicated that trust was influenced by the transformational leadership style. Further, this study provided the discussions and implications from the findings.
An RF electronically controlled impedance tuning network design and its application to an antenna input impedance automatic matching system

A novel design is proposed for an electronically tunable impedance unit. The prototypes include lumped elements, but no electromechanical control methods. The devices can tune many different complex impedances at minimum manufacture costs. Two antenna input impedance automatic matching systems are also presented, based on the tuning network. One includes a simplified version of the generic tuner, which can achieve good matching levels between the antenna and the power module with low losses. In a more complete version, an application specific integrated circuit control unit is developed including a complex search algorithm. In order to obtain a good matching level, both systems require a control module to select the proper tuner impedance configuration. The measurements and results of both constructed prototypes are presented. The designs were carried on terrestrial trunked radio mobile stations in the 380-400-MHz frequency band and supported high power levels (greater than 40 dBm).
The UNICORE Architecture Seamless Access to Distributed Resources

Seamless access to different systems of different vendors at different sites is an important prerequisite to effective and efﬁcient use of distributed resources. Learning about new systems, new software, and new interfaces is a time-consuming task for users who actually want to run their applications. UNICORE is a project to overcome these difﬁ-culties by providing a uniform interface for job preparation and control which gives seamless and secure access to supercomputer resources. It is an ambitiousproject delivering a production ready prototype within two years. The presentation will focus on the UNICORE architecture, especially the protocol and the underlying security mechanisms.
Contractions of dysgenic skeletal muscle triggered by a potentiated, endogenous calcium current

The dihydropyridine (DHP) receptor of normal skeletal muscle is hypothesized to function as the voltage sensor for excitation- contraction (E-C) coupling, and also as the calcium channel underlying a slowly activating, DHP-sensitive current (termed ICa-s). Skeletal muscle from mice with muscular dysgenesis lacks both E-C coupling and ICa-s. However, dysgenic skeletal muscle does express a small DHP- sensitive calcium current (termed ICa-dvs) which is kinetically and pharmacologically distinct from ICa-s. We have examined the ability of ICa-dys, or the DHP receptor underlying it, to couple depolarization and contraction. Under most conditions ICa-dys is small (approximately 1 pA/pF) and dysgenic myotubes do not contract in response to sarcolemmal depolarization. However, in the combined presence of the DHP agonist Bay K 8644 (1 microM) and elevated external calcium (10 mM), ICa-dys is strongly potentiated and some dysgenic myotubes contract in response to direct electrical stimulation. These contractions are blocked by removing external calcium, by adding 0.5 mM cadmium to the bath, or by replacing Bay K 8644 with the DHP antagonist (+)-PN 200-110. Only myotubes having a density of ICa-dys greater than approximately 4 pA/pF produce detectible contractions, and the strength of contraction is positively correlated with the density of ICa-dys. Thus, unlike the contractions of normal myotubes, the contractions of dysgenic myotubes require calcium entry. These results demonstrate that the DHP receptor underlying ICa-dys is unable to function as a "voltage sensor" that directly couples membrane depolarization to calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum.
Density estimation with toroidal data

Density estimation for multivariate, circular data has been formulated only when the sample space is the sphere, but theory for the torus would also be useful. For data lying on a d-dimensional torus (d 1), we discuss kernel estimation of a density, its mixed partial derivatives, and their squared functionals. We introduce a specific class of product kernels whose order is suitably defined in such a way to obtain L2-risk formulas whose structure can be compared to their euclidean counterparts. Our kernels are based on circular densities, however we also discuss smaller bias estimation involving negative kernels which are functions of circular densities. Practical rules for selecting the smoothing degree, based on cross-validation and plug-in ideas are derived. Moreover, we provide specific results on the use of kernels based on the von Mises density. Finally, real-data examples and simulation studies illustrate the findings.
The Prevalence of Burnout and Depression and Their Association with Adherence to Safety and Practice Standards: A Survey of United States Anesthesiology Trainees

BACKGROUND:The prevalence of burnout and depression in anesthesiology residents has not been determined. It is also unknown whether anesthesiology resident burnout/depression may affect patient care and safety. The primary objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of burnout and depression in anesthesiology residents in the United States. We hypothesized that residents at high risk of burnout and/or depression would report more medical errors as well as a lower rate of following principles identified as the best practice of anesthesiology. METHODS:A cross-sectional survey was sent to 2773 anesthesiology residents in the United States. The questionnaire was divided into 5 parts examining trainees’ demographic factors, burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory), depression (Harvard depression scale), 10 questions designed to evaluate best practice of anesthesiology, and 7 questions evaluating self-reported errors. Best practices and self-reported error rates were compared among subjects with a high risk of burnout only, high risk of depression only, high risk of burnout and depression, and low risk of burnout and depression. Pairwise comparisons were considered significant at P < 0.004 and confidence intervals (CIs) reported at 99.6%. RESULTS:There were 1508 (54%) resident responds. High burnout risk was found in 41% (575 of 1417) of respondents. Working >70 hours per week, having >5 drinks per week, and female gender were associated with increased burnout risk. Twenty-two percent (298 of 1384) screened positive for depression. Working >70 hours of work per week, smoking, female gender, and having >5 drinks per week were associated with increased depression risk. Two hundred forty (17%) respondents scored at high risk of burnout and depression, 321 (23%) at high risk of burnout, 58 (4%) at high risk of depression only, and 764 (56%) at low risk of burnout or depression. Median best practice scores (maximum = 30) for residents at high risk of burnout (difference −2; 99.6% CI, −1 to −2; P < 0.001) or high risk of burnout and depression (difference −4; 99.6% CI, −3 to −6; P < 0.001) were lower than scores of residents at low risk for burnout or depression. Thirty-three percent of respondents with high burnout and depression risk reported multiple medication errors in the last year compared with 0.7% of the lower-risk responders (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION:Burnout, depression, and suicidal ideation are very prevalent in anesthesiology residents. In addition to effects on the health of anesthesiology trainees, burnout and depression may also affect patient care and safety.
Validity of integrity tests for predicting drug and alcohol abuse: a meta-analysis.

Abstract : This research used psychometric meta-analysis (Hunter & Schmidt, 1990b) to examine the validity of integrity tests for predicting drug and alcohol abuse. For both drugs and alcohol, integrity test scores correlated substantially (.31 to .51) with admissions of abuse in student and employee samples. In samples of job applicants, however, the mean validity was lower (. 21) for drug abuse; for alcohol abuse validity for applicants was high but only one study (N = 320) was found. All meta-analysis indicated that validity was generalizable. We conclude that the operational validity of integrity tests for predicting drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace is probably about . 30.
Performance Evaluations of the FTOG Framework for Effective Object Management and Load Distribution

This paper presents a fault-tolerant object group (FTOG) framework that provides both group management service and load scheduling service for consistency maintenance as well as state transparency. The group management service manages the overall FTOG framework while providing a couple of schemes to overcome unexpected faults. The load scheduling service effectively distributes the client requests to improve the quality of service by considering the load of service objects. We develop an intelligent home network simulator (IHNS) as a simulation program for using the FTOG framework on distributed environments. Through certain simulations, we validate that the FTOG framework supports both of reliability and stability of the distributed home-networking systems
Diffusion models and approaches for influence maximization in social networks

Social Network Analysis (SNA) deals with studying the structure, relationship and other attributes of social networks, and provides solutions to real world problems. Influence maximization is one of the significant areas in SNA as it helps in finding influential entities in online social networks which can be used in marketing, election campaigns, outbreak detection, and so on. It deals with the problem of finding a subset of nodes called seeds such that it will eventually spread maximum influence in the network. This paper focuses on providing a complete survey on the influence maximization problem and covers three major aspects: i) different types of input required ii) influence propagation models that map the spread of influence in the network, and iii) the approximation algorithms suggested for seed set selection. We also provide the state of the art and describe the open problems in this domain.
International Journal of Emerging Trends in Science and Technology

The human face is an important organ of an individual‘s body and it especially plays an important role in extraction of an individual‘s behavior and emotional state. Manually segregating the list of songs and generating an appropriate system based on an individual‘s emotional features is a very tedious, time consuming, labor intensive and upheld task. Various algorithms have been proposed and developed for automating the system generation process. However the proposed existing algorithms in use are computationally slow, less accurate and sometimes even require use of additional hardware like sensors. This proposed system based on facial expression extracted will generate a system automatically thereby reducing the effort and time involved in rendering the process manually. Thus the proposed system tends to reduce the computational time involved in obtaining the results and the overall cost of the designed system, thereby increasing the overall accuracy of the system. Testing of the system is done on both user dependent (dynamic) and user independent (static) dataset. Facial expressions[1] are captured using an camera. The accuracy of the emotion detection algorithm used in the system for real time images is around 85-90%, while for static images it is around 98-100%. The proposed algorithm on an average calculated estimation takes around 0.95-1.05 sec to generate an emotion based music system. Thus, it yields better accuracy in terms of performance and computational time and reduces the designing cost, compared to the algorithms used in the literature survey.
Multi Touch Gesture Technology for Interactive HCI

We propose the combinational use of hand gestures & simulating software which provides an attractive alternative to cumbersome interface devices for human computer interaction (HCI). Many hand gesture recognition methods using visual analysis have been proposed: syntactical analysis, neural networks, the hidden Markov model (HMM). In the pre-processing stage, our approach consists of three different procedures for hand localization, hand tracking and gesture spotting. The hand location procedure detects hand candidate regions on the basis of skin-color and motion. The hand tracking algorithm finds the centroids of the moving hand regions, connects them, and produces a hand trajectory. The gesture spotting algorithm divides the trajectory into real and meaningless segments. To construct a feature database, this approach uses a combined and weighted location, angle and velocity feature codes.
Dedicated carrier deployment in heterogeneous networks with inter-site carrier aggregation

Heterogeneous networks (HetNets) have been extensively discussed in 3GPP to further enhance the system throughput of traditional well-planned macrocell deployment. In this paper, we consider a HetNet scenario consisting of macro eNBs and low-power nodes implemented as remote radio heads (RRHs) or picos with dedicated carrier deployment. Collaborative inter-site carrier aggregation (CA) is proposed in scenarios with macro+RRH deployment to make an efficient use of the fragmented spectrum from multiple cells. While in scenarios with macro+pico deployment, UEs can only connect to either the macrocell or the picocell using simple cell range expansion (RE). Extensive system-level simulations have been conducted to investigate the performance gains that can be achieved with intersite CA under different traffic models and user distributions. Results show that using inter-site CA between the macrocell and the small cell obviously offers higher throughput due to larger bandwidth accessibility for the terminals, especially in low load.
MAPS FOR ROBOT TASK LEARNING THROUGH IMITATION

We propose an approach that allows a robot to learn a task through imitation, using motor representations, as suggested by recent findings in neuroscience. The robot relies on a visuomotor map to convert visual information into motor data. Then, by observing and imitating other agents, the robot can learn a set of elementary motions (motor vocabulary), that will eventually be used to compose more complex actions, for each specific task domain. We illustrate the approach in a mobile robotics task. Egomotion estimation is used as a visuomotor map, that allows the robot to learn a motor vocabulary for topological mapping and navigation.The approach can be extended to different robots and applications. Encouraging results are presented and discussed.