Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimating day use social carrying capacity in Yosemite national park

Abstract Estimating Day Use Social Carrying Capacity in Yosemite National Park Carrying capacity has been a long‐standing issue in management of parks and outdoor recreation. Contemporary carrying capacity frameworks rely on formulation of indicators and standards of quality of the recreation experience to define and manage carrying capacity. This paper describes a program of research to support application of carrying capacity to Yosemite Valley, the scenic heart of Yosemite National Park, USA. Research included (1) a series of visitor surveys at selected sites within Yosemite Valley to identify indicators and standards of quality, (2) development of computer simulation models of visitor use at study sites to estimate maximum daily use levels without violating standards of quality, and (3) a park exit survey to determine the percentage of day users at study sites. Study findings are used to estimate a range of day use carrying capacities at study sites and for Yosemite Valley as a whole.
End-to-End QoS in Interdomain Routing

Providing end-to-end quality of service (QoS) guarantees for interdomain routing remains a challenge for next generation Internet. As various real-time, mission-critical, and bandwidth-sensitive applications are migrating to the IP networks the need for end-to-end QoS is becoming acute. Large existing base of BGP compliant networks rules out the acceptability of new routing protocol. However, inherent nature and functionality of BGP makes the QoS extensions rather difficult. The paper presents a novel approach to achieve end-to-end QoS support by proposing a new alliance network model. The most important aspect of the proposed model is its compatibility with existing BGP infrastructure, such that the traditional BGP traffic continues in a normal fashion. The alliance network sets-up interdomain paths for premium traffic that require specific QoS guarantees using interdomain MPLS tunnels with resource reservation. The alliance network provides enhanced geographical reach and market penetration for the alliance partners through premium service offerings
ELLIPTIC CURVE CRYPTOGRAPHY. JAVA PLATFORM IMPLEMENTATIONS

Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) is one of the most interesting systems for protecting sensitive information nowadays. The latest versions of the Java Platform include classes and interfaces making ECC available to programmers, but due to the nature of Java it is still necessary to employ additional third party packages in order to use cryptographic operations and procedures related to ECC. In the present work, an extensive review of the most important ECC implementations in Java is presented.
Human action recognition based on Adaptive Distance Generalization of Isometric Mapping

Manifold learning could effectively represent human action which has Non-linear characteristics. Isometric Mapping (ISOMAP) is a classic unsupervised algorithm of manifold learning. However, ISOMAP couldn't work well for the data with the class priori information. Moreover, the computational complexity of dimension reduction to the new data point is too high to be used in real time. Considering two shortages of ISOMAP, the Adaptive Distance Generalization of Isometric Mapping (ADGI) is proposed, using human action silhouette sequences as the features, in which the adaptive distance factor is introduced to combine with generalization of ISOMAP. Finally the nearest neighbor classifier is used for recognition. For the dimension reduction of human action features, ADGI is effective. Experiments in Weizmann database show the presented algorithm is better both in recognition ratio and in real time for human action recognition.
Exploring the Relationships Between Hotel Management Courses and Industry Required Competencies

ABSTRACT Recently, higher education in Taiwan for the hospitality industry has grown dramatically. However, hospitality education is still considered a relative newborn in comparison with other programs. To develop effective programs, it would be appropriate to investigate competencies that influence career success in the hotel industry and the courses that nurture those important competencies. A researcher-developed survey instrument was used to collect data from 200 industry professionals. Instrument reliability and validity were reported. The results revealed the competencies relating to communication and adaptability most influenced career success. Moreover, Finance/Marketing/Personnel Management, Foreign Languages, and Communications & Quality Management curriculum dimensions were significantly related to competencies of “communication skills & adaptation to environmental changes. ”
Effects of glucagon-like peptide-2 on bacterial translocation in rat models of colitis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS The aim of this trial was to study the role of glucagon-like peptide-2 in reducing bacterial translocation by virtue of its anti-inflammatory effects and ability to decrease intestinal permeability in rat models of inflammatory bowel diseases. On the basis of our results and those of other recent studies, we suggest a new treatment modality for colitis. To our knowledge, this is the first study of the effectiveness of glucagon-like peptide-2 on bacterial translocation, in treating an experimental colitis model. METHODS Rats were randomized into 3 groups of 7 rats each-the control group, colitis group, and treatment group. On the 7 th day after induction of colitis, the levels of tissue myeloperoxidase, serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and plasma endotoxin were measured. Tissue samples were obtained from the liver, spleen, and mesenteric lymph nodes for evaluating bacterial translocation. RESULTS Bacterial translocation in samples of the liver, spleen, mesenteric lymph nodes, and portal and systemic blood obtained from the treatment group was lower than that in samples obtained from the colitis group (p < 0.05). The levels of tissue myeloperoxidase, serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and plasma endotoxin in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the colitis group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS In experimental colitis models, which were induced using trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid in ethanol, glucagon-like peptide-2 treatment reduced inflammation and bacterial translocation from the intestinal mucosa. Our results indicate that glucagon-like peptide-2 is a potential agent for treating colitis; however, extensive trials are needed to confirm our results.
Temporal rhythms in family life: Seasonal variation in the relation between parental work and family processes.

Families with school-age children were interviewed 3 times, at 6-month intervals (winter-summerwinter), to test whether summer brings discontinuity in family processes. Longitudinal patterns of parent-child involvement, parental monitoring, and children's involvement in activities were examined for 125 families in 3 groups: DDD (consistently dual-earner), SSS (consistently single-earner), and DSD (dual-earner at Times 1 and 3, single-earner over the summer). In SSS and DSD families, mothers became more involved with their children over the summer, and the division of parenting became more traditional (with mothers more involved than fathers), whereas DDD families maintained a more egalitarian division of parenting. DSD fathers monitored their children less over the summer, whereas DDD fathers became more knowledgeable about their children's activities
Nonmyopic Adaptive Informative Path Planning for Multiple Robots

Many robotic path planning applications, such as search and rescue, involve uncertain environments with complex dynamics that can be only partially observed. When selecting the best subset of observation locations subject to constrained resources (such as limited time or battery capacity) it is an important problem to trade off exploration (gathering information about the environment) and exploitation (using the current knowledge about the environment most effectively) for efficiently observing these environments. Even the nonadaptive setting, where paths are planned before observations are made, is NP-hard, and has been subject to much research. In this paper, we present a novel approach to adaptive informative path planning that addresses this exploration-exploitation tradeoff. Our approach is nonmyopic, i.e. it plans ahead for possible observations that can be made in the future. We quantify the benefit of exploration through the "adaptivity gap" between an adaptive and a nonadaptive algorithm in terms of the uncertainty in the environment. Exploiting the submodularity (a diminishing returns property) and locality properties of the objective function, we develop an algorithm that performs provably near-optimally in settings where the adaptivity gap is small. In case of large gap, we use an objective function that simultaneously optimizes paths for exploration and exploitation. We also provide an algorithm to extend any single robot algorithm for adaptive informative path planning to the multi robot setting while approximately preserving the theoretical guarantee of the single robot algorithm. We extensively evaluate our approach on a search and rescue domain and a scientific monitoring problem using a real robotic system.
Legal Ambiguity and Symbolic Structures: Organizational Mediation of Civil Rights Law

Laws that regulate the employment relation tend to set forth broad and often ambiguous principles that give organizations wide latitude to construct the meaning of compliance in a way that responds to both environmental demands and managerial interests. Organizations respond initially by elaborating their formal structures to create visible symbols of compliance. As organizations construct and institutionalize forms of compliance with laws, they mediate the impact of those laws on society. The author uses data from a nationwide survey of 346 organizations to develop models of the creation and institutionalization of organizationally constructed symbols of compliance following the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Vitamins B2 and B6 and Genetic Polymorphisms Related to One-Carbon Metabolism as Risk Factors for Gastric Adenocarcinoma in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition

B vitamins and polymorphisms in genes coding for enzymes involved in one-carbon metabolism may affect DNA synthesis and methylation and thereby be implicated in carcinogenesis. Previous data on vitamins B2 and B6 and genetic polymorphisms other than those involving MTHFR as risk factors for gastric cancer (GC) are sparse and inconsistent. In this case-control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort, cases (n = 235) and controls (n = 601) were matched for study center, age, sex, and time of blood sampling. B2 and B6 species were measured in plasma, and the sum of riboflavin and flavin mononucleotide was used as the main exposure variable for vitamin B2 status, whereas the sum of pyridoxal 5′-phosphate, pyridoxal, and 4-pyridoxic acid was used to define vitamin B6 status. In addition, we determined eight polymorphisms related to one-carbon metabolism. Relative risks for GC risk were calculated with conditional logistic regression, adjusted for Helicobacter pylori infection status and smoking status. Adjusted relative risks per quartile (95% confidence interval, Ptrend) were 0.85 (0.72-1.01, 0.06) for vitamin B2 and 0.78 (0.65-0.93, <0.01) for vitamin B6. Both relations were stronger in individuals with severe chronic atrophic gastritis. The polymorphisms were not associated with GC risk and did not modify the observed vitamin-cancer associations. In summary, results from this large European cohort study showed an inverse association between vitamin B2 and GC risk, which is borderline significant, and a significant inverse association between vitamin B6 and GC risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 19(1); 28–38
The Complexities of Sexual Consent Among College Students: A Conceptual and Empirical Review

Headlines publicize controversies about sexual assault among college students, and universities face pressure to revise their sexual consent policies. What can the social science literature contribute to this discussion? In this article, we briefly discuss reasons for the recent upsurge in attention to these issues, the prevalence of sexual assault among college students, and aspects of college life that increase the risk of sexual assault and complicate sexual consent. We then review the conceptual challenges of defining sexual consent and the empirical research on how young people navigate sexual consent in their daily lives, focusing primarily on studies of U.S. and Canadian students. Integrating these conceptual issues and research findings, we discuss implications for consent policies, and we present five principles that could be useful for thinking about consent. Finally, we discuss some of the limitations of the existing research and suggest directions for future research.
Evaluating US Service Members for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): Describing Prevalent Symptoms and Treatment Implications for Mild to Moderate TBI

There has been significant emphasis on the topic of Traumatic Brain Injury(TBI)for returning US Service Members from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan due to the high frequency of exposure to blast explosions. TBI has been called the “signature wound” of these conflicts and there is considerable debate on the prevalence of TBI, as well as the contribution of TBI to current symptoms that former Active Duty Service Members are experiencing after returning from deployment. TBI is graded in severity based on duration of alteration or loss of consciousness, duration of post ─ traumatic amnesia, and Glasgow Coma Scale score. The Veterans Affairs TBI Screening and Evaluation process was initiated to identify those individuals with possible TBI and then confirm the diagnosis by an in ─person examination by a clinician with TBI expertise. The efforts of the VA to identify and care for Veterans with TBI will be discussed as well as the challenges of diagnosis and treatment of mild TBI and the frequently occurring co ─morbidities of pain, PTSD, and other mental health issues. The VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines for the treatment and management of mild TBI/Concussion provide recommendations for treatment and will be briefly reviewed. Veterans with a history of mild TBI and persistent symptoms are being identified by the VA which provides an additional opportunity to provide needed services for this patient cohort. This article is an overview of the lecture presented as the Special Guest Speaker at the 34 Annual Conference of the Japan Higher Order Brain Dysfunction Society.
Age Differences in Performance on Two Versions of the Brown-Peterson Task

The reports regarding whether normal aging is associated with faster forgetting in the Brown-Peterson task have been conflicting. We hypothesized that, in light of documented age differences on other tasks involving secondary memory, older adults would show disproportionate forgetting on the Brown-Peterson task as retention interval lengthens. Previous negative results might be a function of the specific experimental procedure used. Experiment 1, using a commonly employed procedure, did not indicate an age-related increase in rate of forgetting. This procedure allowed for differences in rehearsal opportunity, task difficulty, and amount of information to be processed. Experiment 2 controlled for these factors and did reveal significant age differences in the forgetting function. This age difference occurred only at the point where recall became dependent upon secondary memory. There was, however, no evidence of an age-related increase in rate of forgetting from primary memory in either experiment. These findings have implications for theories of cognitive aging as well as for the use and interpretation of a commonly used version of the Brown-Peterson task.
The effects of age and gender on lip function in a normal adult population

Abstract One hundred and sixty-four healthy male and female adults were assessed on nonspeech and speech tasks to determine the effects of age and gender on lip function. The study was designed to provide normative data for lip function in three adult age groups: young (18–30 years), middle age (31–55 years), and older (56–79 years) adults. A miniature transducer was used to record interlabial pressures for the following: maximum lip pressure, sustained maximum and submaximal lip pressures, fine lip force control (10% of maximum), repetition of maximum lip pressures, maximum rate of repetitive lip pressures (number of repetitions and mean pressure over total number of repetitions), and production of /p/. Results revealed that males demonstrated greater interlabial pressures than females during all maximum effort tasks and during production of /p/. Gender effects were not evident for fine lip force control, sustained submaximal lip pressures, or rate of repetitive lip movements. Lip function was found to decline as a function of age for fine lip force control, and for rate and mean pressure during rapid repetitive lip movements. Age effects were not evident for maximum lip pressure, sustained maximum and submaximal lip pressures, mean pressure across 10 repetitions, or during speech activities. The results are discussed in relation to the effects of age and gender on muscle function. The study has provided a normative database of lip function for comparison with disordered populations.
Does Type of Wrongdoing Affect the Whistle-Blowing Process?

Abstract: We analyzed data from a survey of employees of a large military base in order to assess possible differences in the whistle-blowing process due to type of wrongdoing observed. Employees who observed perceived wrongdoing involving mismanagement, sexual harassment, or unspecified legal violations were significantly more likely to report it than were employees who observed stealing, waste, safety problems, or discrimination. Further, type of wrongdoing was significantly related to reasons given by employees who observed wrongdoing but did not report it, across all forms of wrongdoing. However, the primary reason that observers did not report it was that they thought nothing could be done to rectify the situation. Finally, type of wrongdoing was significantly related to the cost of the wrongdoing, the quality of the evidence about the wrongdoing, and the comprehensiveness of retaliation against the whistle-blower. These findings suggest that type of wrongdoing makes a difference in the whistle-blowing process, and it should be examined in future research.
S-transform-based intelligent system for classification of power quality disturbance signals

In this paper, a new approach is presented for the detection and classification of nonstationary signals in power networks by combining the S-transform and neural networks. The S-transform provides frequency-dependent resolution that simultaneously localizes the real and imaginary spectra. The S-transform is similar to the wavelet transform but with a phase correction. This property is used to obtain useful features of the nonstationary signals that make the pattern recognition much simpler in comparison to the wavelet multiresolution analysis. Two neural network configurations are trained with features from the S-transform for recognizing the waveform class. The classification accuracy for a variety of power network disturbance signals for both types of neural networks is shown and is found to be a significant improvement over multiresolution wavelet analysis with multiple neural networks.
Eating attitudes and the body mass index of Australian schoolchildren aged 8 to 12 years

Children from upper primary grades of three Sydney schools (n=244), aged from 8 to 12 years, completed the children's version of the Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT) (Maloney et al., 1988), reported whether they had ever desired to be thinner and had ever tried to lose weight, and had their heights and weights measured. Results were consistent with recent Swedish, U.S.A. and Israeli findings that concerns about being overweight are prevalent among pre-adolescent children, particularly among girls. The majority of overweight children reported that they have wished to be thinner, and many have actively sought to lose weight. Of females classified as underweight, 26 per cent have wanted to be thinner and 62 per cent of these had tried to lose weight at some time. Only six females were classified as very underweight, but three said that they had wanted to be thinner and two that they had actively tried to lose weight. Results offer some support for the value of the ChEAT as a screening test but its validity with very young children is questionable. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.
Validation of the nonmotor symptoms questionnaire for Parkinson's disease: results from a Chinese pilot study

We performed a cross-sectional study of 82 Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) enrolled during an 18-month period. We used a clinical interview to evaluate a Chinese version of the nonmotor symptoms questionnaire (NMSQuest) as an instrument for measuring the nonmotor symptoms (NMS) in Chinese patients with PD. The patients’ cognitive deficit, depression/sleep, disease severity and motor status were assessed based on the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), the Hamilton depression scale (HAMD)/Parkinson's disease sleep scale (PDSS), the modified Hoehn and Yahr staging scale (H&Y) and the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale part III (UPDRS III), respectively. Thirty items distributed in nine different domains of the NMSQuest were evaluated, and the association between the NMSQuest and MMSE, H&Y, UPDRS, HAMD and PDSS was identified. Significant correlations were observed between the NMSQuest and disease duration (rs = 0.272, p = 0.013), UPDRS total score (rs = 0.444, p < 0.001), UPDRS II (rs = 0.415, p < 0.001) and UPDRS III (rs = 0.228, p = 0.039). Furthermore, the sleep disorder and mood (depression/anxiety) domain of the NMSQuest were significantly correlated with the PDSS (rs = −0.471, p < 0.001) and HAMD (rs = 0.687, p < 0.001), respectively. Our results indicate that the Chinese version of the NMSQuest, a useful screening tool, can be considered as a comprehensive, practical measure for NMS evaluation in Chinese PD patients. The NMSQuest highlights the prevalence of the wide range of NMS and indicated good responsiveness and interpretability. We strongly recommend routine use of the simplified Chinese version of NMSQuest in this country.