Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The opacity of spiral galaxy disks VI. Extinction, stellar light and color

In this paper we explore the relation between dust extinction and stellar light distribution in disks of spiral galaxies. Extinction influences our dynamical and photometric perception of disks, since it can distort our measurement of the contribution of the stellar component. To characterize the total extinction by a foreground disk, Gonzalez et al. (1998, ApJ, 506, 152) proposed the "Synthetic Field Method" (SFM), which uses the calibrated number of distant galaxies seen through the foreground disk as a direct indication of extinction. The method is described in Gonzalez et al. (1998, ApJ, 506, 152) and Holwerda et al. (2005a, AJ, 129, 1381). To obtain good statistics, the method was applied to a set of HST/WFPC2 fields (Holwerda et al. 2005b, AJ, 129, 1396) and radial extinction profiles were derived, based on these counts. In the present paper, we explore the relation of opacity with surface brightness or color from 2MASS images, as well as the relation between the scalelengths for extinction and light in the I band. We find that there is indeed a relation between the opacity (A(I)) and the surface brightness, particularly at the higher surface brightnesses. No strong relation between near infrared (H-J, H-K) color and opacity is found. The scalelengths of the extinction are uncertain for individual galaxies but seem to indicate that the dust distribution is much more extended than the stellar light. The results from the distant galaxy counts are also compared to the reddening derived from the Cepheids light-curves (Freedman et al. 2001, ApJ, 553, 47). The extinction values are consistent, provided the selection effect against Cepheids with higher values of A(I) is taken into account. The implications from these relations for disk photometry, M/L conversion and galaxy dynamical modeling are briefly discussed.
The Budgetary Effects of Medicaid Expansion on Pennsylvania

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GatorCloud: a fine-grained and dynamic resourcesharing architecture for multiple cloud services

Cloud datacenters are incorporating diverse workloads with different service models, such as Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). Multiplexing various cloud service models on the same cluster, instead of maintaining a separate cluster for each one, is the key to increasing the resource utilization and lowering the operation costs for the cloud providers. However, it is challenging to achieve multi-resource sharing among different services while preserving performance isolation among them. To address this problem, we present GatorCloud, a new cloud resource management architecture that enables fine-grained and dynamic resource sharing among different service models, such as IaaS and PaaS. GatorCloud exploits a new abstraction called balloon to encapsulate both the execution context of the services and the resources associated with them. It uses a two-level architecture to dedicate the fine-grained resource management to the controller of each service. An SDN-enabled control knob is introduced to directly manipulate the network resources. We demonstrate the detailed design and implementation of a GatorCloud prototype which multiplexes an OpenStack-based IaaS service and two PaaS services (Hadoop and Spark).
Some Hamiltonian results in powers of graphs

In this paper we show that the connectivity of the kth power of a graph of connectivity m is at least km if the kth power of the graph is not a complete graph. Also, we. prove th at removing as many as k 2 vertices from the kth power of a graph (k ;;. 3) leaves a Hamiltonian graph, and that removing as many as k 3 vertices from the kth power of a graph (k;;' 3) leaves a Hamiltonian con nected graph. Further, if every vertex of a graph has degree two or more, then the square of the graph contai ns a 2-factor. Finally, we show that the squares of certain Euler graphs are Hamiltonian.
Characterisation of Cultured Mesothelial Cells Derived from the Murine Adult Omentum

The human omentum has been long regarded as a healing patch, used by surgeons for its ability to immunomodulate, repair and vascularise injured tissues. A major component of the omentum are mesothelial cells, which display some of the characteristics of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells. For instance, lineage tracing studies have shown that mesothelial cells give rise to adipocytes and vascular smooth muscle cells, and human and rat mesothelial cells have been shown to differentiate into osteoblast- and adipocyte-like cells in vitro, indicating that they have considerable plasticity. However, so far, long-term cultures of mesothelial cells have not been successfully established due to early senescence. Here, we demonstrate that mesothelial cells isolated from the mouse omentum could be cultured for more than 30 passages. While epithelial markers were downregulated over passages in the mesothelial cells, their mesenchymal profile remained unchanged. Early passage mesothelial cells displayed clonogenicitiy, expressed several stem cell markers, and up to passage 5 and 13, respectively, could differentiate along the adipogenic and osteogenic lineages, demonstrating stem/progenitor characteristics and differentiation potential.
Striking Out? The Economic Impact of Major League Baseball Work Stoppages on Host

Major League Baseball teams have used the lure of economic riches as an incentive for cities to construct new stadiums at considerable public expense. Estimates of the economic impact of a MLB on host communities have typically been in the vicinity of $300 million. Our analysis suggest these numbers are wildly inflated. Using the baseball strikes of 1981, 1994, and 1995 as test cases, we find the net economic impact for a MLB team on a host city of $16.2 million under one model and $132.3 million under a second model. JEL Classification Codes: L83
Are cannabinoids an effective and safe treatment option in the management of pain? A qualitative systematic review

Abstract Objective: To establish whether cannabis is an effective and safe treatment option in the management of pain. Design: Systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Data sources: Electronic databases Medline, Embase, Oxford Pain Database, and Cochrane Library; references from identified papers; hand searches. Study selection: Trials of cannabis given by any route of administration (experimental intervention) with any analgesic or placebo (control intervention) in patients with acute, chronic non-malignant, or cancer pain. Outcomes examined were pain intensity scores, pain relief scores, and adverse effects. Validity of trials was assessed independently with the Oxford score. Data extraction: Independent data extraction; discrepancies resolved by consensus. Data synthesis: 20 randomised controlled trials were identified, 11 of which were excluded. Of the 9 included trials (222 patients), 5 trials related to cancer pain, 2 to chronic non-malignant pain, and 2 to acute postoperative pain. No randomised controlled trials evaluated cannabis; all tested active substances were cannabinoids. Oral delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) 5-20 mg, an oral synthetic nitrogen analogue of THC 1 mg, and intramuscular levonantradol 1.5-3 mg were about as effective as codeine 50-120 mg, and oral benzopyranoperidine 2-4 mg was less effective than codeine 60-120 mg and no better than placebo. Adverse effects, most often psychotropic, were common. Conclusion: Cannabinoids are no more effective than codeine in controlling pain and have depressant effects on the central nervous system that limit their use. Their widespread introduction into clinical practice for pain management is therefore undesirable. In acute postoperative pain they should not be used. Before cannabinoids can be considered for treating spasticity and neuropathic pain, further valid randomised controlled studies are needed. What is already known on this topic Three quarters of British doctors surveyed in 1994 wanted cannabis available on prescription Humans have cannabinoid receptors in the central and peripheral nervous system In animal testing cannabinoids are analgesic and reduce signs of neuropathic pain Some evidence exists that cannabinoids may be analgesic in humans What this study adds No studies have been conducted on smoked cannabis Cannabinoids give about the same level of pain relief as codeine in acute postoperative pain They depress the central nervous system
Conformal Infinity

The notion of conformal infinity has a long history within the research in Einstein’s theory of gravity. Today, “conformal infinity” is related to almost all other branches of research in general relativity, from quantisation procedures to abstract mathematical issues to numerical applications. This review article attempts to show how this concept gradually and inevitably evolved from physical issues, namely the need to understand gravitational radiation and isolated systems within the theory of gravitation, and how it lends itself very naturally to the solution of radiation problems in numerical relativity. The fundamental concept of null-infinity is introduced. Friedrich’s regular conformal field equations are presented and various initial value problems for them are discussed. Finally, it is shown that the conformal field equations provide a very powerful method within numerical relativity to study global problems such as gravitational wave propagation and detection.
The metric analogue of weak bisimulation for probabilistic processes

We observe that equivalence is not a robust concept in the presence of numerical information - such as probabilities-in the model. We develop a metric analogue of weak bisimulation in the spirit of our earlier work on metric analogues for strong bisimulation. We give a fixed point characterization of the metric. This makes available conductive reasoning principles and allows us to prove metric analogues of the usual algebraic laws for process combinators. We also show that quantitative properties of interest are continuous with respect to the metric, which says that if two processes are close in the metric then observable quantitative properties of interest are indeed close. As an important example of this we show that nearby processes have nearby channel capacities - a quantitative measure of their propensity to leak information.
The revealed cost of unemployment

The costs of unemployment usually are stated in terms of the amount of aggregate income that is foregone because of resources left idle. Although useful, this method does not provide all of the information necessary for normative analysis. In this article, Stratford Douglas and Howard J. Wall propose an alternative that measures the cost of regional and national unemployment by the amount that people would be willing to pay to avoid it. The authors' model treats unemployment as a region-specific disamenity, and uses regional cross-migration data to reveal preferences towards income and unemployment.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Oxidative Stress, and Cardiovascular Disease: Evidence from Human Studies

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a frequent disease mainly affecting obese people and caused by repetitive collapse of the upper airways during sleep. The increased morbidity and mortality of OSA are mainly thought to be the consequence of its adverse effects on cardiovascular (CV) health. In this context, oxidative stress induced by nocturnal intermittent hypoxia has been identified to play a major role. This is suggested by biomarker studies in OSA patients showing excessively generated reactive oxygen species from leukocytes, reduced plasma levels of nitrite and nitrate, increased lipid peroxidation, and reduced antioxidant capacity. Biopsy studies complement these findings by demonstrating reduced endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression and increased nitrotyrosine immunofluorescence in the vasculature of these patients. Furthermore, oxidative stress in OSA correlates with surrogate markers of CV disease such as endothelial function, intima-media thickness, and high blood pressure. Continuous positive airway pressure therapy reverses oxidative stress in OSA. The same may be true for antioxidants; however, more studies are needed to clarify this issue.
University woodwind students’ experiences with playing-related injuries and their management: a pilot study

Background This study aimed to determine the experiences of university classical woodwind students with playing-related injuries (PRIs), the impact of these PRIs, the management selected by students with PRIs, and the perceived effectiveness of this management. Materials and methods All classical woodwind students enrolled in vocational education training or undergraduate courses at a university were sent an email with a link to an online survey. Only those aged 18 years and older were eligible. The survey obtained data regarding demographic information, details of PRI experienced (location, if they lasted for more than 3 months, and if they were current), and the impact of these, as well as the types of management strategies tried and their perceived effectiveness. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and comments were reported descriptively. Results Fourteen students returned the survey; however, one of these only completed the questions regarding demographics, and was therefore excluded. A total of 62% of participants reported having experienced a PRI. Common locations for PRI were the wrist/hand/fingers, lower back, and neck. Reducing practice time by half and missing playing commitments were the most commonly reported consequences of PRIs. Playing-related management strategies were most frequently trialed, with these and passive nonplaying-related strategies perceived to be the most effective. Conclusion PRIs are common in this population, with a range of consequences reported. While it is encouraging that students had tried and found effective playing-related management strategies, active nonplaying-related strategies should be encouraged, particularly in preference to passive nonplaying-related strategies. This was a small-scale study, and the results are only applicable to the institution investigated; therefore, similar larger-scale studies are recommended to determine the generalizability of these findings.
Layout level design for testability strategy applied to a CMOS cell library

The layout level design for testability (LLDFT) rules used here allow to avoid some hard to detect faults or even undetectable faults on a cell library by modifying the cell layout without changing their behavior and achieving a good level of reliability. These rules avoid some open faults or reduce their appearance probability. The main purpose has been to apply that set of LLDFT rules on the cells of the library designed at the Centre Nacional de Microelectronica (CNM) in order to obtain a highly testable cell library. The authors summarize the main results (area overhead and performance degradation) of the application of the LLDFT rules on the cells.
Oriented clonal cell growth in the developing mouse myocardium underlies cardiac morphogenesis

During heart morphogenesis, cardiac chambers arise by differential expansion of regions of the primitive cardiac tube. This process is under the control of specific transcription factors such as Tbx5 and dHAND. To gain insight into the cellular mechanisms that underlie cardiogenesis, we have used a retrospective clonal approach based on the spontaneous recombination of an nlaacZ reporter gene targeted to the murine α-cardiac actin locus. We show that clonal growth of myocardial cells is oriented. At embryonic day (E) 10.5, the shape of clones is characteristic of a given cardiac region and reflects its morphology. This is already detectable in the primitive cardiac tube at E8.5, and is maintained after septation at E14.5 with additional modulations. The clonal analysis reveals new subdivisions of the myocardium, including an interventricular boundary region. Our results show that the myocardium, from the time of its formation, is a polarized and regionalized tissue and point to the role of oriented clonal cell growth in cardiac chamber morphogenesis.
Mindfulness, ciencia y arte: siguientes pasos

El número de investigaciones científicas acerca de mindfulness ha crecido de manera exponencial en los últimos años. Son diversas las metodologías utilizadas y las demostraciones acerca de los beneficios que el entrenamiento de mindfulness puede traer para la salud de los sujetos. Entre los principalescomponentes demostrados están la autorregulación emocional, la reducción del estrés, la ansiedad, los dolores crónicos y la prevención de recaídas en depresión. Aun así, la investigación en mindfulness debe continuar evolucionado,por lo que el objetivo de este artículo-comentario es añadir y discutir, a partir de la experiencia científica y clínica de los autores (“ciencia y arte”), algunos aspectos fundamentales que aún no están plenamente desarrollados en el campo de mindfulness, a saber: el énfasis en el impacto de las intervencionesbasadas en mindfulness sobre la calidad de vida, la perspectiva de “segunda persona” y el estudio en profundidad de los efectos no esperados de esas intervenciones. Nuestro reto principal es fomentar una reflexión más ampliasobre el futuro de la ciencia y arte de mindfulness.
Freshman Interest Groups: Creating Seamless Learning Communities to Enhance Student Success

In 1983 the National Commission on Excellence in Education’s A Nation at Risk began a call for reform in secondary and higher education. This report claimed that America’s education was “being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people. ” 1 . Several related reports followed. Namely, the Wingspread Group 2 and the Kellogg Commission 3 both charged higher education to redesign the undergraduate experience to better prepare America’s citizens for the 21 st century. One area that continues to be of concern is the decline of science, math, and engineering (SME) students. “Undergraduate engineering enrollment declined from a high of 441,205 students in 1983 to 356,177 students in 1996, representing a 19 percent reduction. ” 4 Furthermore, the attrition rate for engineering students remains high. An estimated 35% of first-year engineering students change their major before the start of their sophomore year. 5 While many in academia are quick to blame poor academic preparation in secondary education for the difficulties that students face in these fields, Seymour and Hewitt found that a loss of interest in the sciences and poor teaching by SME faculty were major concerns for both students who persisted in the field and those who changed academic majors 6 . In his meta-analysis, Daempfle came to a similar conclusion and described the classroom experiences of SME students as “chilly. ” 7 Seymour and Hewitt suggest that the best way to increase the retention of students in SME fields is to “improve the quality of the learning experience for all students— including those non-science majors who wish to study science and mathematics as part of their overall education. ” 8 They suggest that institutions focus their efforts on teaching pedagogy,
The social network of Java classes

Several works in literature have analyzed the link structure of programs in relation with software engineering: it has been observed that the programming standards caused small-world networks to emerge among classes in object-oriented programming. The need for coherent design and the coding conventions introduce regular patterns in the link structure of code.In this work, we study the social network naturally emerging from unrelated software projects. We studied the links present among Java classes coming from different contexts. In this case, any observable patterns come from social behaviors, rather than software engineering practices.In our analysis, we could observe a regular social network, organized according to a power-law distribution that is typical, for instance, of links among Web pages. We give a positive value to class links, which we consider a sign of relevance and acceptance. Out of this, we propose a way of ranking classes, and we present our prototype search engine for Java classes.
Introduction to the Handbook of Research on Gender and Marketing

History will point to 2018 as the tipping point for all things gender. The evidence is everywhere, from more women running for political office to girls being saved from sex trafficking rings. The focus on gender surpasses typical academic discussions about political, social, and cultural effects. Gender has gone “mainstream” in 2018. This handbook could not come at a better time. What brought about this gigantic shift in consciousness related to gender? Historians will point to the #MeToo movement, the exposure of sexual harassment, violence, and abuse cases happening at the highest echelons of government, corporate, and social organizations, the incremental movements made in micro-level organizations, such as families, to whittle away at stereotypes that inhibited girls and boys from branching out beyond accepted norms, as just a few of the tremors that precluded this tectonic shift. For those of us who have dedicated our personal and professional lives to advocating for change, the questions are not how and why but what now? But for those who have not considered the extremely complex nature of gender, permit me to provide an illustrative metaphor. Describing the concept of gender is akin to describing a color. I’ll use blue as it is my favorite and also, interestingly, has a “history. ” There are many ways to describe the color blue: spectrum, variation, dark to light, hue, cadence, clarity, sharpness, depth, boldness, etc. Given this vast lexicon, it is clear that there is no universal definition of blue. Blue is in the eye of the beholder; blue represents different things to different people. Blue as a color has an interesting history. It was one of the most recent color words added to the English language and was legitimized as a symbol by the Catholic Church when they officially assigned it to represent Saint Mary. In France and the USA, for example, the color blue represents patriotism. In other cultures, blue represents nature. Blue has been used to describe objects and feelings like “blue moon” or “dress blues” or “feeling blue. ” Advertisers are aware that blue signals strength to consumers. And parents in many countries use the color blue to reveal