Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The six types of nonbelief: a qualitative and quantitative study of type and narrative

Extensive research has been conducted in exploration of the American religious landscape; however, only recently has social science research started to explore nonbelief in any detail. Research on nonbelief has been limited as most research focuses on the popularity of the religious “nones” or the complexities of alternative faith expressions such as spirituality. Through two studies, one qualitative and one quantitative, this research explored how nonbelievers’ self-identify. Study 1 (the qualitative study) discovered that individuals have shared definitional agreement but use different words to describe different types of nonbelief. Through thematic coding, a typology of six different types of nonbelief was observed. Those are Academic Atheists, Activist Atheist/Agnostics, Seeker Agnostics, Antitheists, Non-Theists, and the Ritual Atheists. Study 2 explored the empirical aspects of these types related to the Big Five Domain, Ryff Psychological Well-Being, Narcissistic Personality Inventory, Multidimensional Anger Inventory, Rokeach Dogmatism Scale, and intersections related to religious and spiritual ontology.
A new fast object detection architecture combing manually-designed feature and CNN

We proposed a new fast object detection architecture based on region, which consists of two stages, using manually-designed features and convolutional neural network (CNN) respectively. The first stage is generating many initial proposal windows, and then do objectness measure and ranking, to reduce the quantity of proposal windows. In this stage, we apply four manually-designed objectness features that take much less time to compute. To do the ranking, we apply methods based on ranking SVM and non-max suppression. The second stage is that Deep CNN classifies the candidate windows into special-category and makes the final detection results. Since every window's CNN features computation time consumption is very expensive, we reduce the large set of initial proposal window in an image to small set of candidate windows to reduce the total time of computing CNN features of an image, and thus save the detection run-time. The experiment shows our proposed method achieved the comparable result on VOC 2007 with the state-of-the-art with about half time consumption.
Forecasting Australian Economic Activity Using Leading Indicators

This paper examines the contribution leading indicators can make to forecasting measures of real activity in Australia. In a policy context, we are interested in forecasting the levels or growth of policy relevant variables throughout the cycle. We are less interested in forecasting turning points in the cycle or in forecasting coincident indices, which are subjectively defined overall measures of economic activity. This gives us a different focus to much of the recent work done in this area. We use a simple forecasting framework (bivariate VARs) to compare the Westpac-Melbourne Institute (WM), NATSTAT and ABS leading indices’ predictive performance for real GDP, employment and unemployment in Australia. Within sample we find all three indices help predict all of the activity variables, although with varying leads. Out of sample evidence, however, is weaker. Within our framework, we only find evidence in favour of the WM index when used to forecast GDP. Otherwise, the indices do not make any substantive contribution to forecast quality. To gauge the usefulness of the simple bivariate VAR models, we compare the out of sample forecasts of GDP, using the WM index, to those from a single equation structural model due to Gruen and Shuetrim (1994). Over a forecasting sample of relatively stable growth, the WM index model performs quite well relative to the Gruen and Shuetrim model. Over a longer forecasting sample period, one which includes the downturn in the early 1990s, there is some evidence that the WM index model performs relatively poorly.
Oxygen Cost of Kettlebell Swings

Farrar, RE, Mayhew, JL, and Koch, AJ. Oxygen cost of kettlebell swings. J Strength Cond Res 24(4): 1034-1036, 2010-In recent years, kettlebells have re-emerged as a popular training modality for the conditioning of athletes. We sought to quantify the aerobic challenge of one popularly recommended kettlebell workout. Ten college-aged men (age = 20.8 ± 1.1 years, height = 179 ± 3 cm, body mass = 77.3 ± 7.7 kg, &OV0312;o2max = 52.78 ± 6.22 ml·kg−1·min−1) completed a graded exercise test to exhaustion for the determination of &OV0312;o2max. Two to 7 days later, subjects completed a kettlebell exercise routine consisting of as many 2-handed swings as could be completed in 12 minutes using a 16-kg kettlebell. During this exercise bout, subjects' expired gases were collected and analyzed for the determination of &OV0312;o2, and heart rate (HR) was continuously measured. Percent HRmax and %&OV0312;o2max achieved during the kettlebell exercise were compared with each other using a paired t-test. Subjects completed 265 ± 68 swings during the 12 minutes and achieved an average &OV0312;o2 of 34.31 ± 5.67 ml·kg−1·min−1 and an average HR of 165 ± 13 b·min−1. The average %HRmax (86.8 ± 6.0%) during kettlebell exercise was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than the average %&OV0312;o2max (65.3 ± 9.8%) that was achieved. Continuous kettlebell swings can impart a metabolic challenge of sufficient intensity to increase &OV0312;o2max. Heart rate was substantially higher than &OV0312;o2 during kettlebell swings. Kettlebells provide a useful tool with which coaches may improve the cardiorespiratory fitness of their athletes. However, HRs achieved during continuous kettlebell exercise are significantly higher than actual &OV0312;o2.
A CRE1- regulated cluster is responsible for light dependent production of dihydrotrichotetronin in Trichoderma reesei

Changing light conditions, caused by the rotation of earth resulting in day and night or growth on the surface or within a substrate, result in considerably altered physiological processes in fungi. For the biotechnological workhorse Trichoderma reesei, regulation of glycoside hydrolase gene expression, especially cellulase expression was shown to be a target of light dependent gene regulation. Analysis of regulatory targets of the carbon catabolite repressor CRE1 under cellulase inducing conditions revealed a secondary metabolite cluster to be differentially regulated in light and darkness and by photoreceptors. We found that this cluster is involved in production of trichodimerol and that the two polyketide synthases of the cluster are essential for biosynthesis of dihydrotrichotetronine (syn. bislongiquinolide or bisorbibutenolide). Additionally, an indirect influence on production of the peptaibol antibiotic paracelsin was observed. The two polyketide synthetase genes as well as the monooxygenase gene of the cluster were found to be connected at the level of transcription in a positive feedback cycle in darkness, but negative feedback in light, indicating a cellular sensing and response mechanism for the products of these enzymes. The transcription factor TR_102497/YPR2 residing within the cluster regulates the cluster genes in a light dependent manner. Additionally, an interrelationship of this cluster with regulation of cellulase gene expression was detected. Hence the regulatory connection between primary and secondary metabolism appears more widespread than previously assumed, indicating a sophisticated distribution of resources either to degradation of substrate (feed) or to antagonism of competitors (fight), which is influenced by light.
Patient geometry-driven information retrieval for IMRT treatment plan quality control.

PURPOSE Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment plan quality depends on the planner's level of experience and the amount of time the planner invests in developing the plan. Planners often unwittingly accept plans when further sparing of the organs at risk (OARs) is possible. The authors propose a method of IMRT treatment plan quality control that helps planners to evaluate the doses of the OARs upon completion of a new plan. METHODS It is achieved by comparing the geometric configurations of the OARs and targets of a new patient with those of prior patients, whose plans are maintained in a database. They introduce the concept of a shape relationship descriptor and, specifically, the overlap volume histogram (OVH) to describe the spatial configuration of an OAR with respect to a target. The OVH provides a way to infer the likely DVHs of the OARs by comparing the relative spatial configurations between patients. A database of prior patients is built to serve as an external reference. At the conclusion of a new plan, planners search through the database and identify related patients by comparing the OAR-target geometric relationships of the new patient with those of prior patients. The treatment plans of these related patients are retrieved from the database and guide planners in determining whether lower doses delivered to the OARs in the new plan are feasible. RESULTS Preliminary evaluation is promising. In this evaluation, they applied the analysis to the parotid DVHs of 32 prior head-and-neck patients, whose plans are maintained in a database. Each parotid was queried against the other 63 parotids to determine whether a lower dose was possible. The 17 parotids that promised the greatest reduction in D50 (DVH dose at 50% volume) were flagged. These 17 parotids came from 13 patients. The method also indicated that the doses of the other nine parotids of the 13 patients could not be reduced, so they were included in the replanning process as controls. Replanning with an effort to reduce D50 was conducted on these 26 parotids. After replanning, the average reductions for D50 of the 17 flagged parotids and nine unflagged parotids were 6.6 and 1.9 Gy, respectively. These results demonstrate that the quality control method has accurately identified not only the parotids that require dose reductions but also those for which dose reductions are marginal. Originally, 11 of out the 17 flagged parotids did not meet the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group sparing goal of V(30 Gy) < 50%. Replanning reduced them to three. Additionally, PTV coverage and OAR sparing of the original plans were compared to those of the replans by using pairwise Wilcoxon p test. The statistical comparisons show that replanning compromised neither PTV coverage nor OAR sparing. CONCLUSIONS This method provides an effective quality control mechanism for evaluating the DVHs of the OARs. Adoption of such a method will advance the quality of current IMRT planning, providing better treatment plan consistency.
L'impact des instruments des politiques publiques environnementales sur les processus de décision du consommateur: l'achat de voitures à faibles émissions de carbone

Les politiques publiques environnementales cherchent a impacter des comportements de consommation. Neanmoins, la relation causale entre l'action publique mise en œuvre et le changement de comportement se caracterise par des discontinuites. Elle doit donc etre approfondie en combinant l'angle d'analyse des politiques publiques et du processus de decision du consommateur. En effet, ce dernier depend egalement d'autres determinants psychosociaux et d'autres facteurs contextuels. L'impact specifique des instruments des politiques publiques doit cependant pouvoir y etre distingue. Notre etude sur la politique publique environnementale francaise visant a l'acquisition de voitures a faibles emissions de carbone permet de comprendre l'impact des instruments des politiques publiques sur le processus de decision d'achat du consommateur. En effet, l'attitude envers les instruments de l'action publique produit des effets sur le processus de decision du consommateur. Cet impact n'est pas direct, mais il modere les relations causales entre les principaux determinants du comportement. Ces effets moderateurs dependent de la nature psychologique ou structurelle des instruments des politiques publiques qui impactent des relations specifiques du processus de decision du consommateur.
Calculation of x-ray scattering patterns from nanocrystals at high x-ray intensity

We present a generalized method to describe the x-ray scattering intensity of the Bragg spots in a diffraction pattern from nanocrystals exposed to intense x-ray pulses. Our method involves the subdivision of a crystal into smaller units. In order to calculate the dynamics within every unit, we employ a Monte-Carlo-molecular dynamics-ab-initio hybrid framework using real space periodic boundary conditions. By combining all the units, we simulate the diffraction pattern of a crystal larger than the transverse x-ray beam profile, a situation commonly encountered in femtosecond nanocrystallography experiments with focused x-ray free-electron laser radiation. Radiation damage is not spatially uniform and depends on the fluence associated with each specific region inside the crystal. To investigate the effects of uniform and non-uniform fluence distribution, we have used two different spatial beam profiles, Gaussian and flattop.
Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography Services

Targeted neonatal echocardiography refers to a focused assessment of myocardial performance and hemodynamics directed by a specific clinical question. It has become the standard of care in many parts of the world, but practice is variable, and there has been a lack of standardized training and evaluation to date. Targeted neonatal echocardiography was first introduced to Canada in 2006. The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of targeted neonatal echocardiography practice and training methods in Canadian neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).
Random mappings designed for commercial search engines

We give a practical random mapping that takes any set of documents represented as vectors in Euclidean space and then maps them to a sparse subset of the Hamming cube while retaining ordering of inter-vector inner products. Once represented in the sparse space, it is natural to index documents using commercial text-based search engines which are specialized to take advantage of this sparse and discrete structure for large-scale document retrieval. We give a theoretical analysis of the mapping scheme, characterizing exact asymptotic behavior and also giving non-asymptotic bounds which we verify through numerical simulations. We balance the theoretical treatment with several practical considerations; these allow substantial speed up of the method. We further illustrate the use of this method on search over two real data sets: a corpus of images represented by their color histograms, and a corpus of daily stock market index values.
On Articulating Secondary School, Higher Education and 1992.

Articulation is the point at which the anatomist and the sociologist each goes his separate way. To the former, it is the point at which the most unkind cuts are made. To the latter, it is that locus where two processes interact with one another. To the sociologist of education who, lacking the equivalent of Grey's Anatomy, must work less incisively, the concept of articulation has a third meaning: that point where two levels of the education system interlink. It is here that the institutional role of schooling, the type of knowledge purveyed, the structure of qualifications available and, finally, the composition of the student body are radically re-defined. This paper is concerned with two such points of articulation. The first is that between secondary school and higher education in general; the second lies between the different sectors within higher education, broadly speaking between the university stricto sensu and other types of higher education that go to make up the non-university sector. The main burden of argument is that the advent of 1992 coincides with major change in the relationship both between secondary and higher education as well as between the different segments within higher education itself. Such change is not simply a question of numbers. It also involves what might be interpreted as a relative destabilisation in the vertical relationship between secondary and higher education. Such 'destabilisation' has little to do with demography although, in the North Sea Member States, its effect may well be to make predictions of 'take-up' of higher education amongst qualified secondary-school leavers even more difficult to estimate [1]. Throughout this paper a distinction will be drawn between 'vertical articulation', i.e. the process of moving from school-age education or training to higher education, and 'horizontal articulation', i.e. cross-linkages between the university and the nonuniversity sectors. That said, 1992 and its consequences will have their impact on existing structures and practices in both the 'vertical' and the 'horizontal' domains of articulation. It is important, then, to grasp the broad lines of development that have introduced a high degree of instability within them.
Hermes: Latency Optimal Task Assignment for Resource-constrained Mobile Computing

With mobile devices increasingly able to connect to cloud servers from anywhere, resource-constrained devices can potentially perform offloading of computational tasks to either save local resource usage or improve performance. It is of interest to find optimal assignments of tasks to local and remote devices that can take into account the application-specific profile, availability of computational resources, and link connectivity, and find a balance between energy consumption costs of mobile devices and latency for delay-sensitive applications. We formulate an NP-hard problem to minimize the application latency while meeting prescribed resource utilization constraints. Different from most of existing works that either rely on the integer programming solver, or on heuristics that offer no theoretical performance guarantees, we propose Hermes, a novel fully polynomial time approximation scheme (FPTAS). We identify for a subset of problem instances, where the application task graphs can be described as serial trees, Hermes provides a solution with latency no more than <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$(1+\epsilon)$ </tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:href="kao-ieq1-2679712.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> times of the minimum while incurring complexity that is polynomial in problem size and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\frac{1}{\epsilon}$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:href="kao-ieq2-2679712.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>. We further propose an online algorithm to learn the unknown dynamic environment and guarantee that the performance gap compared to the optimal strategy is bounded by a logarithmic function with time. Evaluation is done by using real data set collected from several benchmarks, and is shown that Hermes improves the latency by <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$16$ </tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:href="kao-ieq3-2679712.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> percent compared to a previously published heuristic and increases CPU computing time by only <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.4$</tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:href="kao-ieq4-2679712.gif"/> </alternatives></inline-formula> percent of overall latency.
Lipids, GTPases, and their regulators in membrane dynamics: an intracellular ménage à trois

Essentially all aspects of eukaryotic cell physiology depend on their compartmentalization and on membrane flux between these compartments mediated by small GTPases and their regulators, as well as by specific membrane lipids (Behnia and Munro, 2005 ). Talks at the Minisymposium on “Membrane Traffic: Dynamic and Regulation” featured how Rab-and Arf-family GTPases, together with diverse phospholipids, most notably phosphoinositides (Balla, 2013 ), control key cell functions ranging from plasma membrane compartmentalization to organelle contacts, endosomal fission, cell motility, intracellular signaling, and cell cycle progression.
Characterization of the Localization and Proteolytic Activity of the SUMO-specific Protease, SENP1*

Modification of proteins by small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) plays an important role in the function, compartmentalization, and stability of target proteins, contributing to the regulation of diverse processes. SUMO-1 modification can be regulated not only at the level of conjugation; it may also be reversed by a class of proteases known as the SUMO-specific proteases. However, current understanding of the regulation, specificity, and function of these proteases remains limited. In this study, we characterize aspects of the compartmentalization and proteolytic activity of the mammalian SUMO-specific protease, SENP1, providing insight into its function and regulation. We demonstrate the presence of a single nonconsensus nuclear localization signal within the N terminus of the protein, the mutation of which results in pronounced cytoplasmic accumulation in contrast to the nuclear accumulation of the parental protein. In addition, we observe that the N terminus of the protein may be essential for the correct regulation of the protease, since expression of the core domain alone results in limited expression and loss of SUMO-1, indicative of constitutive catalytic activity. Consistent with the prediction that the protease is a member of the cysteine family of proteases, we mutated a key cysteine residue and observed that expression of this catalytic mutant had a dominant negative phenotype, resulting in the accumulation of high molecular weight SUMO-1 conjugates. Furthermore, we demonstrate that SENP1 may itself be a target for SUMO-1 modification occurring at a nonconsensus site. Finally, we demonstrate that SENP1 localization is influenced by expression and localization of SUMO-1-conjugated target proteins within the cell.
Professor Frederic Herzberg on management of motivation

SO HERE WAS A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE IN ACTION THE great Frederic Herzberg himself—in person. The huge assembly which turned up to savour the experience and paid for the privilege came, one imagines, as much to see the man as to absorb his message. If this were so then the delegates got their moneysworth. Ten times larger than life; incomparable actor; inordinately vain; highly gifted in communicating to the point of playing to the gallery; amusing, entertaining, but above all else persuasive and rational, here was a representative of that breed of men which has revolutionised, within the past decade, America's thinking about human effort in the work‐place.
Improved contrast in laser-diode-based photoacoustic images with short-lag spatial coherence beamforming

Pulsed laser diodes (PLDs) enable photoacoustic imaging with lower cost, increased portability, and higher frame rates compared to conventional Q-switched Nd:YAG lasers. However, the main disadvantage of the PLD is its low peak power, which necessitates averaging thousands of photoacoustic signals to achieve signal-to-noise ratios that are comparable to those produced by an Nd:YAG laser. The averaging process degrades temporal resolution with minimal improvements to image contrast. This work is the first to investigate the use of a PLD and short-lag spatial coherence (SLSC) beamforming to display high-contrast photoacoustic images with minimal to no signal averaging required. The mean contrast in single photoacoustic images of targets as deep as 5-15 mm from the surface was improved by 11-17 dB with SLSC beamforming when compared to conventional delay-and-sum (DAS) beamforming of the same data. The SLSC correlation kernel was adjusted based on laser pulse lengths to demonstrate applicability to coded excitation. Results suggest that coherence-based beamforming can overcome current limitations with real-time PLD-based photoacoustic imaging.