Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gay Tourism: Culture, Identity, and Sex

Part 1 History, culture and commerce: challenges from the margins - gay tourism as cultural critique Thailand and gay tourism Bangkok [un] bound - self-representations of Thai sex work on the Internet a case study in contradictions - Hawaii and gay tourism marketing tourism products to gay and lesbians rolling out the pink carpet - government tourism offices and city CVBs discover the gay market. Part 2 Identity, choice and resistance: gay tourism and the diversity of gay identities constrained choice - facilitators and inhibitors in holiday choice by gay men conflicts in paradise - homophobic resistances to gay tourism better living through circuitry - lesbians and circuit parties. Part 3 : Sexual behaviour, risk and HIV prevention: gay tourism and sexual risk behaviour going far this holiday? - gay male travellers and HIV prevention.
Phylogenetic Tree Reconstruction Accuracy and Model Fit when Proportions of Variable Sites Change across the Tree

Abstract Commonly used phylogenetic models assume a homogeneous process through time in all parts of the tree. However, it is known that these models can be too simplistic as they do not account for nonhomogeneous lineage-specific properties. In particular, it is now widely recognized that as constraints on sequences evolve, the proportion and positions of variable sites can vary between lineages causing heterotachy. The extent to which this model misspecification affects tree reconstruction is still unknown. Here, we evaluate the effect of changes in the proportions and positions of variable sites on model fit and tree estimation. We consider 5 current models of nucleotide sequence evolution in a Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo framework as well as maximum parsimony (MP). We show that for a tree with 4 lineages where 2 nonsister taxa undergo a change in the proportion of variable sites tree reconstruction under the best-fitting model, which is chosen using a relative test, often results in the wrong tree. In this case, we found that an absolute test of model fit is a better predictor of tree estimation accuracy. We also found further evidence that MP is not immune to heterotachy. In addition, we show that increased sampling of taxa that have undergone a change in proportion and positions of variable sites is critical for accurate tree reconstruction.
Motivating Residents to Conserve Energy without Financial Incentives

Given the aim to motivate people to conserve energy in homes, we need to understand what drives people’s energy use behavior and how it can be influenced. This article describes applied energy conservation campaigns at two U.S. military installations where residents do not pay their own utility bills. Customized approaches were designed for each installation based on a broad social-psychological model. Before-and-after energy use was measured, and residents were surveyed about end use behaviors. Residents said they were motivated by the desire to do the right thing, set good examples for their children, and have comfortable homes. For sustained change, respondents recommended continued awareness and education, disincentives, and incentives. Findings support some aspects of a social-psychological model, with emphasis on altruistic and egoistic motives for behavioral change. These studies may have implications for situations where residents are not billed for individual energy use, including other government-subsidized facilities, master-metered apartments, and university dormitories.
Optimization of cooperative spectrum sensing in cognitive radio for mobile communication

Cognitive radio technology offers a revolutionary solution to spectral resources crisis by looking at the spectrum in an unconventional manner as a multi-dimensional space. The current wireless communication systems are governed by fixed spectrum assignment policy (licensed spectrum), which was proven by measurement to be inefficient. Cognitive radio enables maximum spectrum utilization efficiency through opportunistic access to temporarily unutilized portions of spectrum. In Cognitive Radio spectrum sensing performance is more important. By cooperative spectrum sensing probability of false alarm (Pf) is increased with given probability of detection (Pd). In this paper we formulate a cooperative spectrum sensing as noncooperative game and also formulate a optimization problem, numerical results demonstrate that limited number of SU for cooperative sensing are achieve much better performance than Nash Equilibrium. By selecting optimal strategy SU maximize their utility, maximum spectrum utilization is depend on expected utility under different SNR.
Proteoglycan metabolism during repair of the ruptured medial collateral ligament in skeletally mature rabbits.

The metabolism of the chondroitin/dermatan sulfate (CS/DS) proteoglycans (PGs) decorin and biglycan is markedly altered during short-term (3-6 weeks) and long-term (40 weeks-2 years) repair of surgically ruptured medial collateral ligaments from mature rabbits. A PG-rich extracellular matrix accumulates in injury gaps by 3 weeks postsurgery and extends into tissue regions containing the original ligaments, and elevated PG levels remain apparent up to 2 years postinjury. CS/DS PGs were prepared from such ligaments and identified after SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis by Alcian blue staining or immunoblotting. In normal ligaments, decorin is the most abundant proteoglycan (accounting for approximately 80% of the total); the remainder is biglycan and a large PG, possibly versican. In repairing ligaments, decorin is barely detected, but instead a large proteoglycan and abundant amounts of biglycan accumulate. Biglycan is present in two forms in repairing ligaments, and they can be separated on SDS-PAGE into 200- and 140-kDa forms. The slower migrating species is absent in normal ligaments and may represent a different glycoform (containing either a single or two short chondroitin/dermatan sulfate chains) of biglycan. Alteration in PG expression and posttranslational processing during medial collateral ligament repair are similar to those reported for repair and scar formation of other connective tissues. The accumulation of biglycan observed here may interfere with proper collagen network remodeling and may lead to persistent inflammatory and matrix turnover processes, thus preventing restoration of a long-term functional ligament tissue.
A Conservation of Resources Approach to Blackberry Use, Work-Family Conflict and Well-Being: Job Control and Psychological Detachment from Work as Potential Mediators

This paper provides a comparison study of the relationships between using the Blackberry (BB) device for work purposes during non-work hours and (a) work-family conflict and (b) well-being, and the potential mediators of these relationships from a Conservation of Resources (COR) approach. Findings revealed that greater usage of the BB for work purposes during non-work hours was related to higher levels of work-family conflict. In particular greater frequency of use was related to an inability to psychologically detach from work, resulting in work-family conflict and low levels of well-being. Furthermore using the device for long periods was also related to an inability to psychologically detach from work, resulting in low levels of well-being. The findings did not support job control as a potential mediator; although support was found for the COR theory, as the mediating effect of detachment from work was greater than the mediating effect of job control on the relationship between BB use and work-family conflict, supporting that resource loss is more salient than resource gain. In light of these findings this paper proposes that organisations should aim to reduce the negative impact that using this device for work purposes during non-work hours has on employees, by either reducing the usage of the device or by ensuring employees are capable of handling the device and demands of the job.
Theory-driven approaches to analysing collaborative performance

Abstract The theory-driven approach to analysing and assessing collaborative performance provides an important tool for researchers and policy-makers seeking to understand collaborative performance. It explains performance deductively, in terms of the a priori causality of relationships between variables. Different theoretical domains provide different insights into collaborative performance. The theory-driven approach to collaborative performance contrasts with the metric-driven approach. Here, performance is defined in terms of what can be measured, and causality is then inferred inductively. Five performance domains are identified, covering the democratic, integrative, transformative, policy, and sustainability dimensions of collaboration. These draw on democratic theory, exchange and power-dependency theory, institutional theory, policy network theory, and discourse theory. The analytical consequences of each theory-driven approach are examined through three case studies. The article concludes that each theoretical perspective provides a distinctive insight into collaborative performance, thus more accurately reflecting its multifaceted mature than is possible with a metric-driven approach.
Induction of TGF‐β1 in the trabecular meshwork under cyclic mechanical stress

The pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the failure of the trabecular meshwork (TM) to maintain normal levels of aqueous outflow in glaucoma are not yet understood. Aberrant activation of the transforming growth factor beta‐1 (TGF‐β1) pathway has been implicated in several degenerative diseases. We investigated the possibility that chronic cyclic mechanical stress that affects the TM might result in increased production of TGF‐β1. Primary cultures of TM cells subjected to cyclic mechanical stress (5% stretching, 1 cycle/sec) demonstrate a significant increase in total and biologically active secreted TGF‐β1 that was associated with activation of the TGF‐β1 promoter, measured using a recombinant adenovirus expressing the secreted reporter gene secreted alkaline phosphatase protein (SEAP) under the TGF‐β1 gene promoter (AdTGFβ1‐SEAP). Associated changes in the transcription of MMP‐2, TIMP‐2, and CTGF were assessed by semiquantitative PCR. Immunohistochemical analysis of TGF‐β1 in organ culture of human eyes revealed a generalized accumulation of this protein in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the TM, while expression of the TGF‐β1 promoter, analyzed using the LacZ reporter gene, was localized in some specific cells within the outflow pathway. Induction of the TGF‐β1 promoter in organ culture was demonstrated using a novel model for cyclic mechanical stress in human perfused anterior segments infected with AdTGFβ1‐SEAP. Given the relevant physiological and pathophysiological roles of TGF‐β1, its induction after cyclic mechanical stress in the TM supports the hypothesis that this cytokine might play a significant role in the physiology of the TM, and contribute to the pathological changes of this tissue in certain forms of glaucoma. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Museums of ‘human suffering’ and the struggle for human rights

Following the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Terence M. Duffy describes museum exhibits of ‘human suffering’ and the struggle for human rights, particularly recent museums and proposals for museums in places where genocide has occurred, or where human beings were held in bondage. Human rights issues constitute important subjects for museums, from concentration camps to museums of slavery. Professor Duffy teaches Peace Studies at the University of Ulster and directs the Irish Peace Museum Project.
Laparoscopic splenectomy for treatment of splenic marginal zone lymphoma.

AIM To investigate the short-term and long-term efficacy and safety of laparoscopic splenectomy (LS) for treatment of splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL). METHODS A total of 18 continuous patients who were diagnosed with SMZL and underwent LS in our department from 2008 to 2012 were reviewed. The perioperative variables and long-term follow-up were evaluated. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of this procedure better, we also included 34 patients with liver cirrhosis who underwent LS, 49 patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) who underwent LS, and 20 patients with SMZL who underwent open splenectomy (OS). The results observed in the different groups were compared. RESULTS No differences were found in the sex and Child-Pugh class of the patients in SMZL-LS, SMZL-OS, ITP, and liver cirrhosis groups. The splenic length of the patients in the SMZL-LS group was similar to that in the SMZL-OS and liver cirrhosis groups but significantly longer than in the ITP group. The SMZL-LS group had a significantly longer operating time compared with the SMZL-OS, ITP, and liver cirrhosis groups, and the SMZL-LS group exhibited significantly less blood loss compared with the SMZL-OS group. No difference was found in the length of the postoperative hospital stay between the SMZL-LS, SMZL-OS, ITP, and liver cirrhosis-LS groups. After surgery, 6 (33.3%) SMZL-LS patients suffered slight complications. During mean follow-up periods of 13.6 and 12.8 mo, one patient from the SMZL-LS group and two from the SMZL-OS group died as a result of metastasis after surgery. None of the ITP and liver cirrhosis patients died. CONCLUSION LS should be considered a feasible and safe procedure for treatment of SMZL in an effort to improve the treatment options and survival of patients.
Concurrency Testing Using Controlled Schedulers

We present an independent empirical study on concurrency testing using controlled schedulers. We have gathered 49 buggy concurrent software benchmarks, drawn from public code bases, which we call SCTBench. We applied a modified version of an existing concurrency testing tool to SCTBench, testing five controlled scheduling techniques: depth-first search, preemption bounding, delay bounding, a controlled random scheduler, and probabilistic concurrency testing (PCT). We attempt to answer several research questions: Which technique performs the best, in terms of bug finding ability? How effective are the two main schedule bounding techniques—preemption bounding and delay bounding—at finding bugs? What challenges are associated with applying concurrency testing techniques to existing code? Can we classify certain benchmarks as trivial or nontrivial? Overall, we found that PCT (with parameter d = 3) was the most effective technique in terms of bug finding; it found all bugs found by the other techniques, plus an additional three, and it missed only one bug. Surprisingly, we found that the naive controlled random scheduler, which randomly chooses one thread to execute at each scheduling point, performs well, finding more bugs than preemption bounding and just two fewer bugs than delay bounding. Our findings confirm that delay bounding is superior to preemption bounding and that schedule bounding is superior to an unbounded depth-first search. The majority of bugs in SCTBench can be exposed using a small schedule bound (1--2), supporting previous claims, although one benchmark requires five preemptions. We found that the need to remove nondeterminism and control all synchronization (as is required for systematic concurrency testing) can be nontrivial. There were eight distinct programs that could not easily be included in out study, such as those that perform network and interprocess communication. We report various properties about the benchmarks tested, such as the fact that the bugs in 18 benchmarks were exposed 50% of the time when using random scheduling. We note that future work should not use the benchmarks that we classify as trivial when presenting new techniques, other than as a minimum baseline. We have made SCTBench and our tools publicly available for reproducibility and use in future work.
Testing General Relativity with Low-Frequency, Space-Based Gravitational-Wave Detectors

We review the tests of general relativity that will become possible with space-based gravitational-wave detectors operating in the ∼ 10−5 − 1 Hz low-frequency band. The fundamental aspects of gravitation that can be tested include the presence of additional gravitational fields other than the metric; the number and tensorial nature of gravitational-wave polarization states; the velocity of propagation of gravitational waves; the binding energy and gravitational-wave radiation of binaries, and therefore the time evolution of binary inspirals; the strength and shape of the waves emitted from binary mergers and ringdowns; the true nature of astrophysical black holes; and much more. The strength of this science alone calls for the swift implementation of a space-based detector; the remarkable richness of astrophysics, astronomy, and cosmology in the low-frequency gravitational-wave band make the case even stronger.
The Performance and Construction of Subjectivities of Early Adolescent Girls in Book Club Discussion Groups

This study examines the performance and construction of subjectivities of four early adolescent, sixth-grade girls as they read and discussed a novel about two adolescent Mexican children seeking a new life in America. Using data gathered through ethnographic methods such as participant-observation, interviews, dialogue journals, and book club discussions, the author describes the participants as they performed their subjectivities in various contexts, focusing specifically on their performances while reading and discussing the novel in book club groups. The girls' conversations about themselves suggested that they engaged in ongoing constructions of their subjectivities as they interacted with the text and with each other. Analysis of data was inductive and was informed by theories of experiential response as developed by Louise Rosenblatt and others. The discussion groups provided a fertile environment in which the girls could reflect on the text, share responses, argue opposing viewpoints, and negotiate shared meanings. During the discussions of the novel, the girls debated a variety of personal and social issues, sometimes recognizing and verbally acknowledging shifts in their values, beliefs, and attitudes as they negotiated meanings and clarified understandings.
Probing protein function using a combination of gene knockout and proteome analysis by mass spectrometry

Recently the determination of the genome sequences of three procaryotes (Haemophilus influenzae, Methanococcus jannaschii and Mycoplasma genitalium) as well as the first eucaryotic genome (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) were completed. Between 40–60% of the genes were found to code for proteins to which no function could be assigned. We describe an approach which combines proteome analysis (mapping of expressed proteins isolated by two‐dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to the genome) with genetic manipulations to study the complex pattern of protein regulation occurring in Escherichia coli in response to sulfate starvation. We have previously described the upregulation of eight spots on two‐dimensional (2‐D) gels in response to sulfate starvation and the assignment of six of these to entries in the E. coli genome sequence (Quadroni et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 1996, 239, 773–781). Here we describe the identification of the remaining two proteins which are encoded in a sulfate‐controlled operon in the 21.5′ region of the E. coli genome. Upregulated protein spots were cut from multiple 2‐D gels collected and run on a modified funnel gel to concentrate the proteins and remove the sodium dodecyl sulfate before digestion. The peptide masses obtained from the digests were used to search the SwissProt database or a six‐frame translation of the EMBL DNA database using a peptide mass fingerprinting algorithm. A digest can be reanalyzed after deuterium exchange to obtain a second, orthogonal data set to increase the confidence level of protein identification. The digests of the remaining unidentified proteins were used for peptide fragment generation using either post‐source decay in a matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) time‐of‐flight mass spectrometer or collision‐induced dissociation (CID) coupled mass specrometry (MS/MS) with triple stage quadrupole or ion trap mass spectrometers. The spectra were used as peptide fragment fingerprints to search the SwissProt and EMBL databases.
Mining video editing rules in video streams

Data mining is a technique to discover useful patterns or patterns of special interest as explicit knowledge from a vast quantity of data. In video editing, there are a lot of editing patterns. According to the editor's preferences, different editing patterns give the opportunity to achieve a variety of effects. Discovering the editing patterns is required, because it is useful to find each editor's skills and to use them for editing new video material. In this paper, we propose the methods of extracting editing rules from video stream by introducing data mining technique. We can edit a video material by applying the extracted rules. The edited video may produce the same quality as the video from which we extracted the patterns.
On determining the solvability of polynomials

Landau and Miller presented a method for determining the solvability of a monic irreducible polynomial over integers in polynomial time. In their method, a series of polynomials is constructed so that the original problem is reduced to determining the solvability of new polynomials. Here, we present an improved method for finding such a series of polynomials efficiently. More precisely, we introduce a new notion on a series of blocks in the set of all roots of the original polynomial under the action of its Galois group, and then present an efficient method for finding such a series of blocks by modifying Landau and Miller's method for finding minimal imprimitive blocks.
The Role of Landscape‐Dependent Disturbance and Dispersal in Metapopulation Persistence

The fundamental processes that influence metapopulation dynamics (extinction and recolonization) will often depend on landscape structure. Disturbances that increase patch extinction rates will frequently be landscape dependent such that they are spatially aggregated and have an increased likelihood of occurring in some areas. Similarly, landscape structure can influence organism movement, producing asymmetric dispersal between patches. Using a stochastic, spatially explicit model, we examine how landscape‐dependent correlations between dispersal and disturbance rates influence metapopulation dynamics. Habitat patches that are situated in areas where the likelihood of disturbance is low will experience lower extinction rates and will function as partial refuges. We discovered that the presence of partial refuges increases metapopulation viability and that the value of partial refuges was contingent on whether dispersal was also landscape dependent. Somewhat counterintuitively, metapopulation viability was reduced when individuals had a preponderance to disperse away from refuges and was highest when there was biased dispersal toward refuges. Our work demonstrates that landscape structure needs to be incorporated into metapopulation models when there is either empirical data or ecological rationale for extinction and/or dispersal rates being landscape dependent.