Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The orbital PDF: the dynamical state of Milky Way sized haloes and the intrinsic uncertainty in the determination of their masses

Using realistic cosmological simulations of Milky Way sized haloes, we study their dynamical state and the accuracy of inferring their mass profiles with steady-state models of dynamical tracers. We use a new method that describes the phase-space distribution of a steady-state tracer population in a spherical potential without any assumption regarding the distribution of their orbits. Applying the method to five haloes from the Aquarius Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) N-body simulation, we find that dark matter particles are an accurate tracer that enables the halo mass and concentration parameters to be recovered with an accuracy of 5 per cent. Assuming a potential profile of the Navarro, Frenk & White (NFW) form does not significantly affect the fits in most cases, except for halo A whose density profile differs significantly from the NFW form, leading to a 30 per cent bias in the dynamically fitted parameters. The existence of substructures in the dark matter tracers only affects the fits by ∼1 per cent. Applying the method to mock stellar haloes generated by a particle-tagging technique, we find the stars are farther from equilibrium than dark matter particles, yielding a systematic bias of ∼20 per cent in the inferred mass and concentration parameter. The level of systematic biases obtained from a conventional distribution function fit to stars is comparable to ours, while similar fits to dark matter tracers are significantly biased in contrast to our fits. In line with previous studies, the mass bias is much reduced near the tracer half-mass radius.
Nonimpact brain injury: Grounds for clinical study of the neuropsychological effects of acceleration forces

Abstract Individuals subjected to acceleration forces in motor vehicle accidents often exhibit the postconcussive syndrome and, upon examination, neuropsychological impairment. Brain injury and particular variables relating to nonimpact intracranial brain movement are reviewed. Brain injury in man can occur through exposure to acceleration forces without direct impact to the head or loss of consciousness. Hence, there are clear grounds for the neuropsychological study of victims of acceleration forces. Moreover, as with mild head injury, adequate regard for the variables of age, previous head injury, premorbid adaptive ability, socioeconomic status, motivation, and test sensitivity may assist in clarifying the specific problems in adaptation encountered by this clinical population. Clinical experience suggests that acceleration forces adversely affect attention (especially at older age levels), learning, and conceptual flexibility.
Positive Transcriptional Regulation of the Human μ Opioid Receptor Gene by Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase-1 and Increase of Its DNA Binding Affinity Based on Polymorphism of G−172 → T*

μ opioid receptor (MOR) agonists such as morphine are applied widely in clinical practice as pain therapy. The effects of morphine through MOR, such as analgesia and development of tolerance and dependence, are influenced by individual specificity. Recently, we analyzed single nucleotide polymorphisms on the human MOR gene to investigate the factors that contribute to individual specificity. In process of single nucleotide polymorphisms analysis, we found that specific nuclear proteins bound to G−172 → T region in exon 1 in MOR gene, and its affinity to DNA was increased by base substitution from G−172 to T−172. The isolated protein was identified by mass spectrometry and was confirmed by Western blotting to be poly(ADP-ribose) po ly mer ase-1 (PARP-1). The overexpressed PARP-1 bound to G−172 → T and enhanced the transcription of reporter vectors containing G−172 and T−172. Furthermore, PARP-1 inhibitor (benzamide) decreased PARP-1 binding to G−172 → T without affecting mRNA or protein expression level of PARP-1 and down-regulated the subsequent MOR gene expression in SH-SY5Y cells. Moreover, we found that tumor necrosis factor-α enhanced MOR gene expression as well as increased PARP-1 binding to the G−172 → T region and G−172 → T-dependent transcription in SH-SY5Y cells. These effects were also inhibited by benzamide. In this study, our data suggest that PARP-1 positively regulates MOR gene transcription via G−172 → T, which might influence individual specificity in therapeutic opioid effects.
Light-invariant 3D object's pose estimation using color distance transform

This paper presents a novel pose estimation method based on color distance transform. Although the distance transform has already been used for object detection, pose estimation and active contouring we use it in a completely novel way to isolate the colors from which the pose is estimated. Standard matching and pose estimation techniques usually rely on the available texture and feature points. However, they are bound to fail in low texture or extreme noise presence conditions. The edge-based approaches can overcome such failures but they are generally too slow for real-time performance. Moreover the image luminance affects these techniques as the edges are not visible and in many cases the foreground and the background are merged. On the other hand, we obtain robustness against extreme lighting conditions by using the HSV-HSL color spaces. We isolate the colors operating only on the chromaticity plane where luminosity (L) and value (V) have no actual effect. Depending on the vectors' norms in the RGB cube we obtain the chroma which is subtracted from the HSV-HSL color disk leaving only the colors with high intensities. The distance transform is then applied on the remaining colors in order to find their ‘sources’. The pixels which have the same color but are far from the source are excluded, since they are considered noisy. The proposed method maintains its accuracy and precision against different lighting conditions without increasing the processing time or the computational resources.
Moving Beyond Traditional Null Hypothesis Testing: Evaluating Expectations Directly

This mini-review illustrates that testing the traditional null hypothesis is not always the appropriate strategy. Half in jest, we discuss Aristotle's scientific investigations into the shape of the earth in the context of evaluating the traditional null hypothesis. We conclude that Aristotle was actually interested in evaluating informative hypotheses. In contemporary science the situation is not much different. That is, many researchers have no particular interest in the traditional null hypothesis. More can be learned from data by evaluating specific expectations, or so-called informative hypotheses, than by testing the traditional null hypothesis. These informative hypotheses will be introduced while providing an overview of the literature on evaluating informative hypothesis.
Evaluating Student Learning Outcomes in Counselor Education

The 2009 Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs Standards call upon counselor educators to assess student learning outcomes (SLOs) throughout the curricula. This article provides an overview of content and process considerations for identifying SLOs; developing assessments; creating measures; collecting, managing, and reporting data; and making meaning and implementing changes at student- and program levels. A case example is provided.
Maori and Tourism: A Relationship of History, Constitutions and Rites

This paper describes developments in Maori tourism. It argues that such developments cannot be understood without reference to a socio-political and ethical context of the history and ethical structures of Maori. It draws attention to Maori as an indigenous people as defined by the conventions on such peoples as adopted by the United Nations, and the recognition of ownership of cultural symbols. Maori claims of ownership of the symbols and practices adopted by tourist operators are thus sanctioned by international and national rights, but are equally tempered by Maori notions of hospitality to guests. However, Maori notions of gifts require respect and proper usage of gifts, and it is with this accord that Maori become involved with tourism. Furthermore, economic realities mean that Maori tourist operations will tend to be at an individual or extended family level, and hence the recognition of Maori ownership may be said to be more important. However, a further complicating issue is that Maori society is .
An automatic satellite image registration technique based on Harris corner detection and Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC) outlier rejection model

Automatic satellite image registration is a challenging task of overlaying two images for geometric conformity aligning common features by establishing a transformation model using distinguishable feature points collected simultaneously in both the images in a completely un assisted manner. Remote sensed images capture terrain features in a natural condition subjected to seasonal changes, sun illumination conditions, and cloud presence. The critical steps in image registration are collection of feature points and estimating a spatial transformation especially when outliers are present besides feature matching and resampling the slave image to the master image geometry. In this paper, the details and merit of employing automatic Harris corner detection and building a transformation model using Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC) algorithm is brought out while registering a pair of LISS-3 or AWIFS images from Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) platform. Potential available with this approach for performing large scale image registration tasks such as time series processing are highlighted.
CONSTRAINTS ON ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOUR

The purpose of this study was to examine crucial predictors of driving frequency. In contrast to traditional psychological environmental research emphasizing primarily personal variables in explaining environmental behavior, the perspective taken in this article is that behavior is generally prevented by a host of constraints. Therefore, this study was aimed at identifying prevalent constraints inhibiting individuals from reducing their driving frequency. By means of questionnaire data collected from a sample of Swiss adults two classes of constraints were examined: (a) Subjective factors that were assumed to affect the preference for proenvironmental behavioral alternatives (sense of responsibility, perceived behavioral barriers); and (b) objective conditions that inhibit the performance of proenvironmental action (socio-demographic variables such as lack of automobile, place of residence, income). Multiple regression analyses indicated that subjective constraints explained a significant amount of variance in behavioral reports, but structural constraints also contributed to explaining variance. Theoretical and applied implications of examining constraints to which people are subjected to and implications for further research are discussed.
The Impact of Temporary Labor Migration on Mexican Children's Educational Aspirations and Performance 1

This article examines how temporary U.S. labor migration by family members and by students affects the educational aspirations and performance of those same students growing up in Mexican migrant communities. Labor migration affects these children in two ways. First it brings remitted U.S. earnings into the household which allows parents to provide more education for their children and reduce the need for children's labor. Higher incomes are also associated with numerous factors that improve the general well-being of children, as reflected in various indicators including higher school grades. Labor migration also has negative impacts on children. In addition to family stress and behavioral problems with adolescents due to parental and sibling absence, migration provides an example of an alternative route to economic mobility. Children growing up in migrant households have access to information and social networks that reduce their likelihood of migration failure should they choose this alternative to the Mexican labor market. We analyze a unique data set from a stratified random sample of 7600 grammar, junior high, and high school-level students in a state capital, a large town, and 25 rural communities in a Mexican migrant-sending state. We find that high levels of U.S. migration are associated with lower aspirations to attend a university at all academic levels. We find, however, a positive relationship between U.S. migration and grades. We conclude that while U.S. migration provides financial benefits that allow children to continue schooling and perform well, it may also reduce the motivation to attain above-average years of schooling.
Compromises in Adolescents' Occupational Aspirations and Expectations from Grades 8 to 10.

Abstract This study examined compromises in occupational aspirations made by adolescents who reported aspiration–expectation discrepancies. Participants were 502 adolescents (245 male, 257 female) who reported their occupational aspirations and expectations in Grades 8, 9, and 10. Occupations were coded for gender traditionality and socioeconomic status (SES). Adolescents who showed aspiration–expectation discrepancies in gender traditionality or SES, in either Grade 8 or Grade 9, changed their aspirations in the following year in the direction of their prior expectations. Substantial reductions were made in mean aspiration–expectation discrepancies and only 26 to 43% of discrepant adolescents were classified in the same discrepancy group a year later. Changes in adolescents' expectations also contributed to reductions in mean discrepancies. Obtained results provide support for Gottfredson's (1981, 1996) compromise theory and raise questions about the role of expectation changes in the compromise process.
Children's Attributional Style Questionnaire—Revised: Psychometric examination.

This study examines the psychometric properties of the Children's Attributional Style Questionnaire—Revised (CASQ-R; N. J. Kaslow & S. Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991), a 24-item shortened measure derived from the 48-item CASQ designed to assess children's causal explanations for positive and negative events. The data for this study come from 1,086 children, 9 to 12 yean* old, with equal representation of boys and girls and African American and Caucasian children. Approximately one half (n = 475) of the youths also completed the CASQ-R 6 months later. Results revealed that although the CASQ-R was somewhat less reliable than the original CASQ, with moderate internal consistency reliability and fair test-retesl reliability, it demonstrated equivalent criterion-related validity with self-reported depressive symptoms. Psychometric properties of the CASQ-R showed some variation by race, such that the overall composite demonstrated better internal consistency and criterion-related validity among Caucasian youths than among African American youths.
A Century of Feasting Studies

The study of feasting has gradually emerged from early descriptions and bewilderment to more sophisticated attempts to understand the logic and reasons behind the often lavish displays. We chart the various models that have been, and still are, used by anthropologists and archaeologists to explain this unique human behavior. Acquiring prestige is a popular explanation used by ethnographers, while coping with social conflicts is commonly invoked by archaeologists. However, more practical benefits behind feasts have also been proposed, as well as experiential motivations. Whichever explanation is endorsed, there is widespread agreement that feasts play important roles in establishing social identities and memories, creating political power and inequalities, gender identities, accomplishing work, and developing prestige technologies, possibly including domesticates.
Fast Sampling-Based Whole-Genome Haplotype Block Recognition

Scaling linkage disequilibrium (LD) based haplotype block recognition to the entire human genome has always been a challenge. The best-known algorithm has quadratic runtime complexity and, even when sophisticated search space pruning is applied, still requires several days of computations. Here, we propose a novel sampling-based algorithm, called S-MIG<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{++}$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="taliun-ieq1-2456897.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>, where the main idea is to estimate the area that most likely contains all haplotype blocks by sampling a very small number of SNP pairs. A subsequent refinement step computes the exact blocks by considering only the SNP pairs within the estimated area. This approach significantly reduces the number of computed LD statistics, making the recognition of haplotype blocks very fast. We theoretically and empirically prove that the area containing all haplotype blocks can be estimated with a very high degree of certainty. Through experiments on the 243,080 SNPs on chromosome 20 from the 1,000 Genomes Project, we compared our previous algorithm MIG<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{++}$ </tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="taliun-ieq2-2456897.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> with the new S-MIG<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{++}$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="taliun-ieq3-2456897.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> and observed a runtime reduction from 2.8 weeks to 34.8 hours. In a parallelized version of the S-MIG<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"> $^{++}$</tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="taliun-ieq4-2456897.gif"/></alternatives> </inline-formula> algorithm using 32 parallel processes, the runtime was further reduced to 5.1 hours.
EDUCATION POLICY ANALYSIS ARCHIVES

The accreditation systems of higher education institutions and/or programmes are becoming a policy measure used to find a balance between their autonomy and public assurance concerning the quality of the qualifications they award. This article analyses, from the point of view of this balance of power, the process of development of the Portuguese accreditation system aimed at providing public assurance that initial teacher education programmes are more driven by social demand, namely by the changing school education needs. This was a political and cultural process rather than a merely rational and technical one. Thus the emergence of the need for, and possibility of, external pressure upon higher education institutions is related to the evolution of several social factors. On the other hand, the implementation of the accreditation system means a significant change for these institutions which implies new practices and comes into conflict with some of their values and with power sharing within and among them and with society. For these reasons a strategy of wide participation of significant stakeholders was deemed more suitable for the formulation, adoption and implementation of this new public policy. The way in which Campos: Teacher Education Acreditation in Portugal 2 Government, the accreditation body and the significant stakeholders exercised their power in this process influenced the characteristics of the system, the rhythm of its implementation and the abrupt governmental decision to put it on stand by, until now. The accreditation systems of higher education institutions and/or programmes are becoming a policy measure used to find a balance between the autonomy of these institutions and public assurance concerning the quality of the qualifications they award. This article (Note 1) analyses, from the point of view of this balance of power, the development of the Portuguese system for the accreditation of initial school teacher education programmes (Note2). It starts by making a short reference to the higher education accreditation movement, especially in the field of teacher education, and by pinpointing the role of an accreditation system within the process of public certification of qualified teacher status. The second section outlines the historical and social process leading to the social awareness that there was a social issue urging a new policy measure. The third characterises the structural and functional elements of the system developed. The description of the strategy chosen for the formulation, adoption and implementation of this policy appears in the fourth section. Finally, the way social actors exerted their power in the process of development of this policy is highlighted and some lessons are drawn from it.
Modeling Phosphorus Transfer between Labile and Nonlabile Soil Pools: Updating the EPIC Model

Phosphorus transfer from agricultural soils to surface waters is an important environmental issue. Commonly used computer models like EPIC have not always been appropriately updated to reflect our improved understanding of soil P transformations and transfer to runoff. Our objectives were to determine if replacing EPIC’s constant sorption and desorption rate factor (0.1) with more dynamic rate factors can more accurately predict changes in soil labile Pon addition to and depletion of P from soils. From published data, methods were developed to easily determine dynamic sorption and desorption rate constants from soil properties. These methods were tested with data from new soil P incubation experiments where changes in soil labile P after P addition to and depletion from nine U.S. soils were measured. Replacing constant 0.1 P sorption rate factors with dynamic factors improved prediction of soil labile P with time after P additions but more so for high-clay than low-clay soils. EPIC’s constant 0.1 P desorption rate factor greatly underpredicted soil P desorption. Increasing the constant to 0.6 improved predictions, whereas dynamic P desorption rate factors most accurately predicted P desorption. Soil P simulations showed that replacing constant P sorption and desorption rate factors with dynamic ones may change dissolved P loads (kg ha 21 ) in runoff for common soil, cropping, and runoff scenarios by only 1 to 8% in the long term but by 8 to 30% in the short term. These improvements are recommended given the simplicity of making EPIC’s sorption and desorption rate factors dynamic.
Preventive Antibacterial Treatment Improves the General Medical and Neurological Outcome in a Mouse Model of Stroke

Background and Purpose— Epidemiological studies have demonstrated a high incidence of infections after severe stroke and their prominent role in morbidity and mortality in stroke patients. In a mouse model, it has been shown recently that stroke is coupled with severe and long-lasting immunosuppression, which is responsible for the development of spontaneous systemic infections. Here, we investigated in the same model the effects of preventive antibiotic treatment on survival and functional outcome of experimental stroke. Methods— Mice were subjected to experimental stroke by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCAO) for 60 minutes. A group of mice received moxifloxacin (6×100 mg/kg body weight every 2 hours over 12 hours) either immediately or 12 hours after MCAO. Control animals received the vector only. Behavior, neurological deficit, fever, survival, and body weight were monitored over 14 days. In a subgroup, infarct volume was measured 4 days after MCAO. Microbiological assessment was based on cultures of lung tissue, blood, and feces of animals 3 days after stroke. For a dose-response study, moxifloxacin was given immediately after MCAO in different doses and at different time points. Results— Microbiological analyses of blood and lung tissue demonstrated high bacterial burden, mainly Escherichia coli, 3 days after stroke. Accordingly, we observed clinical and histological signs of septicemia and pneumonia. Moxifloxacin prevented the development of infections and fever, significantly reduced mortality, and improved neurological outcome. Conclusions— Preventive antibiotic treatment may be an important new therapeutical approach to improve outcome in patients with severe stroke.