Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative H and K band spectroscopy of Galactic OB-stars at medium resolution

In this paper we have analyzed 25 Galactic O and early B-stars by means of H and K band spectroscopy, with the primary goal to investigate to what extent a lone near-IR spectroscopy is able to recover stellar and wind parameters derived in the optical. Most of the spectra have been taken with subaru-ircs, at an intermediate resolution of 12 000, and with a very high S/N , mostly on the order of 200 or better. In order to synthesize the strategic H/He lines, we have used our recent, line-blanketed version of fastwind (Puls et al. 2005, A&A, 435, 669). In total, seven lines have been investigated, where for two stars we could make additional use of the Hei2.05 singlet which has been observed with irtf-cshell. Apart from Br \gamma and Heii2.18, the other lines are predominately formed in the stellar photosphere, and thus remain fairly uncontaminated from more complex physical processes, particularly clumping. First we investigated the predicted behaviour of the strategic lines. In contradiction to what one expects from the optical in the O-star regime, almost all photospheric H/Hei/Heii H/K band lines become stronger if the gravity decreases . Concerning H and Heii, this finding is related to the behaviour of Stark broadening as a function of electron density, which in the line cores is different for members of lower (optical) and higher (IR) series. Regarding Hei, the predicted behaviour is due to some subtle NLTE effects resulting in a stronger overpopulation of the lower level when the gravity decreases. We have compared our calculations with results from the alternative NLTE model atmosphere code cmfgen (Hillier & Miller 1998, ApJ, 496, 407). In most cases, we found reasonable or nearly perfect agreement. Only the Hei2.05 singlet for mid O-types suffers from some discrepancy, analogous with findings for the optical Hei singlets. For most of our objects, we obtained good fits, except for the line cores of Br \gamma in early O-stars with significant mass-loss. Whereas the observations show Br \gamma mostly as rather symmetric emission lines, the models predict a P Cygni type profile with strong absorption. This discrepancy (which also appears in lines synthesized by cmfgen) might be an indirect effect of clumping. After having derived the stellar and wind parameters from the IR, we have compared them to results from previous optical analyses. Overall, the IR results coincide in most cases with the optical ones within the typical errors usually quoted for the corresponding parameters, i.e., an uncertainty in T eff of 5%, in $\log g$ of 0.1 dex and in ${\dot M}$ of 0.2 dex, with lower errors at higher wind densities. Outliers above the 1- σ level where found in four cases with respect to $\log g$ and in two cases for ${\dot M}$.
Heat propagation contours for 3D non-rigid shape analysis

We present a novel local shape descriptor by means of General Adaptive Neighborhoods (GANs) based on the properties of the heat diffusion process on a Riemannian manifold. The GAN is a spatial region, surrounding the feature point and fitting its local shape structure, which is isometric. Our signature, called the Heat Propagation Contours (HPCs), is obtained by analysing the well-known heat kernel and extracting contours automatically within the GAN as heat dissipates from the feature point onto the rest of the shape. HPCs capture geometric information around the feature point by investigating the heat propagation process both in the temporal and spatial domain. HPCs share many useful characteristics with the heat based methods. Particularly, it captures the intrinsic geometry of a shape and is suitable for non-rigid shape analysis. In addition, our signature provides an elegant and efficient way to describe the neighborhood of the feature point in a multi-scale approach. The proposed descriptor is evaluated on several datasets to demonstrate its effectiveness.
Amelioration of Osteoporosis and Hypovitaminosis D by Sunlight Exposure in Hospitalized, Elderly Women With Alzheimer's Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial

In a random and prospective study, Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients were assigned to regular sunlight exposure (n = 132) or sunlight deprivation (n = 132) and followed for 1 year. Serum 25‐OHD level increased by 2.2‐fold in the sunlight‐exposed group. Eleven patients sustained fractures in the sunlight‐deprived group, and three fractures occurred among the sunlight‐exposed group (p = 0.0362; odds ratio = 3.7).
Affinity Purification of the Arabidopsis 26 S Proteasome Reveals a Diverse Array of Plant Proteolytic Complexes*

Selective proteolysis in plants is largely mediated by the ubiquitin (Ub)/proteasome system in which substrates, marked by the covalent attachment of Ub, are degraded by the 26 S proteasome. The 26 S proteasome is composed of two subparticles, the 20 S core protease (CP) that compartmentalizes the protease active sites and the 19 S regulatory particle that recognizes and translocates appropriate substrates into the CP lumen for breakdown. Here, we describe an affinity method to rapidly purify epitope-tagged 26 S proteasomes intact from Arabidopsis thaliana. In-depth mass spectrometric analyses of preparations generated from young seedlings confirmed that the 2.5-MDa CP-regulatory particle complex is actually a heterogeneous set of particles assembled with paralogous pairs for most subunits. A number of these subunits are modified post-translationally by proteolytic processing, acetylation, and/or ubiquitylation. Several proteasome-associated proteins were also identified that likely assist in complex assembly and regulation. In addition, we detected a particle consisting of the CP capped by the single subunit PA200 activator that may be involved in Ub-independent protein breakdown. Taken together, it appears that a diverse and highly dynamic population of proteasomes is assembled in plants, which may expand the target specificity and functions of intracellular proteolysis.
Increasing the Writing Performance of Urban Seniors Placed At-Risk through Goal-Setting in a Culturally Responsive and Creativity-Centered Classroom.

Efforts to support marginalized students require not only identifying systemic inequities, but providing a classroom infrastructure that supports the academic achievement of all students. This action research study examined the effects of implementing goal-setting strategies and emphasizing creativity in a culturally responsive classroom (CRC) on urban students placed atrisk of failure in a 12th grade writing classroom. Qualitative and quantitative data include preand post-surveys, student writing assignments, grades, pre-and post-focus groups, and teacherresearcher observations. Data indicate writing goals, creativity, and a CRC positively improved the independent writing performance of students and developed their confidence in and value for the writing process. This study will assist educators as they design learning environments and utilize strategies to teach writing to marginalized students.
The Influence of Dyadic Coping on Inflammation in the Context of Chronic Parenting Stress

Social relationships are postulated to benefit health through direct and stress-buffering effects. Positive dyadic coping, a spousal support process in which a couple works together to cope with the stressors that one or both partners are facing, is associated with reduced psychological distress. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the association between dyadic coping and inflammation, which is elevated under chronic stress and increases risk for health threats. It was hypothesized that positive dyadic coping would buffer the impact of chronic stress on perceived stress, and in turn reduce inflammation. Forty-four parents of children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder completed questionnaires that assessed relationship satisfaction, social support, and dyadic coping. Daily diaries assessed the occurrence of child behavior problems. Circulating C-reactive protein (CRP) was assessed using ELISA on dried blood spots. Hierarchical linear regression models evaluated the main and interactive effects of child behavior problems, and positive and negative dyadic on circulating CRP. Moderated mediation analyses evaluated the conditional indirect effect of dyadic coping on circulating CRP through perceived caregiving burden. Positive dyadic coping, but not negative dyadic coping, was uniquely associated with circulating CRP. Positive dyadic coping, but not negative dyadic coping buffered the impact of chronic stress on perceived caregiving burden. However, perceived stress did not explain the association between positive dyadic coping and inflammation. These data suggest that positive dyadic coping is a unique interpersonal process that reduces psychological distress and inflammation. Future research should evaluate interventions aimed at improving positive dyadic coping and inflammation among couples experiencing chronic stress.
General Features in Knowledge Tracing to Model Multiple Subskills, Temporal Item Response Theory, and Expert Knowledge

Knowledge Tracing is the de-facto standard for inferring student knowledge from performance data. Unfortunately, it does not allow modeling the feature-rich data that is now possible to collect in modern digital learning environments. Because of this, many ad hoc Knowledge Tracing variants have been proposed to model a specific feature of interest. For example, variants have studied the effect of students’ individual characteristics, the effect of help in a tutor, and subskills. These ad hoc models are successful for their own specific purpose, but are specified to only model a single specific feature. We present FAST (Feature Aware Student knowledge Tracing), an efficient, novel method that allows integrating general features into Knowledge Tracing. We demonstrate FAST’s flexibility with three examples of feature sets that are relevant to a wide audience. We use features in FAST to model (i) multiple subskill tracing, (ii) a temporal Item Response Model implementation, and (iii) expert knowledge. We present empirical results using data collected from an Intelligent Tutoring System. We report that using features can improve up to 25% in classification performance of the task of predicting student performance. Moreover, for fitting and inferencing, FAST can be 300 times faster than models created in BNT-SM, a toolkit that facilitates the creation of ad hoc Knowledge Tracing variants.
ACTION RESEARCH: TRENDS AND VARIATIONS

Action research continues to grow as a research tradition, yet misconceptions about what it is and is not remains, even among scholars. For example, some mistakenly believe action research is only about professional development and is not a scholarly research approach. Some assume action research must be accomplished through a collaborative process with representative stakeholders, and others believe it can be done alone as an independent process. Some believe action research is about problem solving while others avoid discourse about problems altogether and prefer to focus on the positive aspects of a setting. And, some begin the research process with defined assumptions about the core issues while others have no presuppositions and follow a discovery process. The goal of this article is to point to the various ways action research is defined and applied and position it as a growing research tradition.
Attentional Control in Preschool Children with Specific Language Impairment

10 INTRODUCTION 12 Attention and Language Learning under the General Learning Mechanisms Framework 14 Attention and Children with SLI 15 Summary of Findings 21 Attention as a Limited Capacity 22 Attention Skills by Subdomain 23 Attention Skills by Modality 24 Implications for Current Study 25 Purpose of Current Study 26 The Specific Hypotheses 39 METHODS 41 Participants 41 Reliability Measures 44 Procedures 45 Task 1: Simple RT 46 Task 2. Susceptibility to Distraction 47 Task 3. Inhibitory Control/Updating 52 RESULTS 57 Simple RT 57 Susceptibility to Distraction: TD vs. SLI 58 Inhibitory Control: TD vs. SLI 63 Updating: TD vs. SLI . 65 Correlational Analyses 67
Neuropsychological assessment of executive functions in self-reported delinquents

Abstract Deficits in “executive” neuropsychological functions have been proposed to underlie the development of antisocial behavior such as juvenile delinquency. Results of research into the executive functions of delinquents have been mixed, and studies have been hampered by reliance on small samples of adjudicated subjects and questionable validity of the tests administered. This research examined the performance of a large unselected birth cohort of adolescent boys and girls on five tests of executive function that have documented reliability and validity. It is the first such study to use self-reports of antisocial behavior. Executive deficits were shown only by a subgroup of delinquent subjects with childhood comorbidity of antisocial behavior and attention deficit disorder; that subgroup's behavior was also rated as more aggressive and impulsive than comparison groups'. Group differences on executive measures remained significant after the effects of overall IQ were statistically controlled. Also, delinquents who had been detected by police did not show poorer executive functions than subjects with equivalent self-reports of delinquent behavior who had evaded official detection, suggesting that executive deficits are related to the development of antisocial behavior itself, and not simply to risk of detection.
Isolated principal and intercalated cells: hormone responsiveness and Na+-K+-ATPase activity.

To explore biochemical and functional differences between principal (PC) and intercalated cells (ICC), we have developed a method for separating them from rabbit kidney. Fragments of cortical collecting ducts were isolated by immunodissection, and single cells obtained from these clusters were stained with fluorochrome-conjugated, cell-specific markers. PC and ICC were then separated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Identity of the sorted cells was confirmed by staining with other cell-specific monoclonal antibodies (MCABs) or peanut lectin. Purity was greater than 99% for ICC and greater than 96% for PC. Arginine vasopressin (AVP) increased adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) accumulation in both cell types, but maximal stimulation was significantly greater with PC (approximately 20-fold) than with ICC (2.7-fold). Half-maximal stimulation was seen at approximately 2 x 10(-10) M AVP with both cell types. Isoproterenol increased cAMP levels only with ICC (from 1.23 +/- 0.16 to 12.06 +/- 1.25 fmol/cell; P less than 0.001). The number of ouabain binding sites and the activity of Na+-K+-ATPase was significantly higher in sorted PC than ICC (2.2 X 10(6) vs. 9.6 X 10(5) binding sites; 19.2 vs. 9.6 fmol.min-1.cell-1 ATP hydrolyzed in PC vs. ICC, respectively). These results demonstrate the feasibility of isolating homogeneous populations of PC and ICC, which is useful for further studies of their biochemical and functional characterization.
Chaotic neural network based pseudo-random sequence generator for cryptographic applications

The objective of any cryptographic system is to transmit the data among the intended clients with no spillage of data to other people who may have unauthorized access to it. A typical secret key could be made over an open channel available to any opponent. As we reviewed in this paper, a cryptographically efficient pseudorandom sequence should have the characteristics of high randomness and encryption effect. Neural systems can be utilized to create common secret key. In case of neural cryptography, both the communicating systems get an indistinguishable data vector, produce an output bit and are prepared in view of the output bit. The two systems and their weight vectors show a novel phenomenon, where the systems synchronize to a state with indistinguishable time-dependent weights. The statistical quality of pseudo-random sequences determines the strength of cryptographic system. The generation of pseudo-random sequences with high randomness and encryption effect is a key challenge. We also discuss simple examples of neural network.
Practice-theories of facilitating experiential learning in outward bound: A research report

Practice-Theories of Facilitating Experiential Learning in Outward Bound is the report of an inquiry into the largely tacit knowledge that guides program facilitation in Outward Bound Belgium. The report is only available in Dutch. The research is based on interview conversations about 79 significant program events, selected and narrated by facilitators during 8 programs. Data-collection and analysis followed the guidelines of 'action science' and 'grounded theory'. The main research findings can be summarised as follows:
Lifted Inference on Transitive Relations

Lifted inference algorithms are able to boost efficiency through exploiting symmetries of the underling first-order probabilistic models. Models with transitive relations (e.g., if X and Y are friends and so are Y and Z, then X and Z will likely be friends) are essential in social network analysis. With n elements in a transitive relation model, the computational complexity of exact propositional inference is O(2n(n-1)/2), making it intractable for large domains. However, no tractable exact inference on the transitive relations has been reported on the transitive relations. In this paper, we report a novel deterministic approximate lifted inference algorithm, which efficiently solves inference problems on the transitive relations without degenerating input models. We introduce an alternative graph representation for first-order probabilistic models with formulas of homogeneous bivariate predicates. The new representation, which is closely related to exponential-family random graph models, leads to an efficient deterministic approximate lifting algorithm by exploiting the asymptotic properties of the state space. We perform experiments to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Glyph spotting for mediaeval handwritings by template matching

This paper reports on the analysis of different approaches in order to search for glyphs within handwritten mediaeval documents. As layout analysis methods are difficult to apply to the documents at hand, template matching methods are employed. A number of different shape descriptions are used to filter out false positives, since the application of correlation coefficients alone results in too many matches. The overall goal consists in the interactive support of an editor who is transcribing a given handwriting. For this purpose, the automatic spotting of glyphs enables the editor to compare glyphs within different contexts.
Oncoprotein Signaling Mediates Tumor-Specific Inflammation and Enhances Tumor Progression1

The RET/PTC3 (RP3) fusion protein is an oncogene expressed during the development of thyroid cancer and in thyroid epithelial cells of patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. RP3 has two immunological properties: 1) it encodes a chimeric protein including peptides that may be targets of antitumor immune responses and 2) it is a tyrosine kinase that can activate NF-κB transcriptional programs, induce secretion of proinflammatory mediators, and stimulate innate immunity. To distinguish the antigenic properties of the RP3 oncoprotein from its signaling function, a transplantable tumor system was developed. Tumors expressing the functional, but not mutant, form of RP3 show enhanced infiltration of CD8+ lymphocytes, myeloid-derived CD11b+Gr1+ cells, and enhanced growth in immunocompetent mice. In contrast, RP3 signaling mutant-expressing tumors maintained enhanced infiltration of CD8+ lymphocytes did not enhance recruitment of CD11b+Gr1+ cells and showed a decreased tumor incidence. These results implicate a role for RP3 function in enhancing a tumor-suppressive innate inflammatory response. These experiments support a mechanism whereby oncogenes can directly recruit and activate innate and adaptive immune cells, resulting in enhanced tumor progression.
Spectrum magnifier: Zooming into local details in the frequency domain

Zooming into a spectrum obtained from the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) could not be performed directly by linear/cubic interpolations in the frequency domain. A spectrum magnifier is presented in this paper as a two-step procedure: the carrier-wave demodulation and the fractional Fast Fourier Transform1 (frFFT). Particularly for a narrow-band signal within Nyquist limits, the carrier-wave demodulation shifts the band center to zero; afterward the frFFT efficiently investigates into precision details of the near-zero band without any resolution cost either in the time domain or in the frequency domain. Such a cost is frequently compromised from accuracy and efficiency demands in the methods based on traditional techniques of zero-padding, low- or band-pass filtering, sub-sampling, etc.
Exploring e-Learning Effectiveness Perceptions of Local Government Staff Based on the Diffusion of Innovations Model

This study adopts the diffusion of innovations model as a research framework to examine adult learner perceptions related to workplace e-learning effectiveness. Recent training reform efforts focusing on e-learning in Taiwan provide an opportunity to explore e-learning effectiveness using questionnaires. The results show that the perceptions and attitudes of adult learners toward workplace e-learning are positive, and relevant factors that affect learner-perceived effectiveness and e-learning expected values are identified. The implications of analyzing e-learning innovation in public sector training and the recommendations for future e-learning research for staff development initiatives are addressed.
Genetic Evidence for the Adhesion Protein IgSF9/Dasm1 to Regulate Inhibitory Synapse Development Independent of its Intracellular Domain

Normal brain function requires balanced development of excitatory and inhibitory synapses. An imbalance in synaptic transmission underlies many brain disorders such as epilepsy, schizophrenia, and autism. Compared with excitatory synapses, relatively little is known about the molecular control of inhibitory synapse development. We used a genetic approach in mice to identify the Ig superfamily member IgSF9/Dasm1 as a candidate homophilic synaptic adhesion protein that regulates inhibitory synapse development. IgSF9 is expressed in pyramidal cells and subsets of interneurons in the CA1 region of hippocampus. Electrophysiological recordings of acute hippocampal slices revealed that genetic inactivation of the IgSF9 gene resulted in fewer functional inhibitory synapses; however, the strength of the remaining synapses was unaltered. These physiological abnormalities were correlated with decreased expression of inhibitory synapse markers in IgSF9−/− mice, providing anatomical evidence for a reduction in inhibitory synapse numbers, whereas excitatory synapse development was normal. Surprisingly, knock-in mice expressing a mutant isoform of IgSF9 lacking the entire cytoplasmic domain (IgSF9ΔC/ΔC mice) had no defects in inhibitory synapse development, providing genetic evidence that IgSF9 regulates synapse development via ectodomain interactions rather than acting itself as a signaling receptor. Further, we found that IgSF9 mediated homotypic binding and cell aggregation, but failed to induce synapse formation, suggesting that IgSF9 acts as a cell adhesion molecule (CAM) to maintain synapses. Juvenile IgSF9−/− mice exhibited increased seizure susceptibility indicative of an imbalance in synaptic excitation and inhibition. These results provide genetic evidence for a specific role of IgSF9 in inhibitory synapse development/maintenance, presumably by its CAM-like activity.