Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE EFFECTS OF EARLY VERSUS LATER GRADE RETENTION ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

In an era of increased accountability for student learning administrators and teachers are forced to address the needs of struggling students. Grade retention is used as a practice to help low-performing students overcome their academic deficits. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of grade retention on student achievement. The goal of this study was to determine whether there was a significant difference in the growth performance scores and EVAAS predicted scores of sixth grade students retained in early grades first through third as compared to students retained in later grades fourth through sixth utilizing the NC End-of-Grade Tests in reading and mathematics. Separate Fisher's exact tests for reading and mathematics were used to determine the frequency of distribution of student growth performance scores in these subjects as measured by the within and/or above expectations versus below expectations categories from the NC ABCs model to compare early retainees and later retainees to see if the relationship of performance to category of retention differed more than expected by chance. Also separate Fisher's exact tests for reading and mathematics were conducted to examine the frequency of distribution of student growth scores in these subjects as measured by the below expectation versus within or above expectations categories from the EVAAS predicted scores to compared early retainees and later retainees to see if the relationship of performance to category of retention differed more than expected by chance. According to these findings in this study when examining academic change scores for reading and mathematics a significant relationship does not exist between the growth performance of early and later retainees. When examining EVAAS predicated scores it was also indicated that a significant relationship does not exist between the growth performance of early and later retainees. However the data did indicate that a higher percentage of later retainees met and/or scored above expectations in reading when compared to the early retainees.
high-sensitivity c-reactive protein, lipoprotein-related phospholipase a 2 , and acute ischemic stroke

Lp-PLA2 activity are significantly associated with more severe neurologic impairment and larger infarct size in patients who have acute ischemic stroke. These biomarkers may be useful for rapid diagnosis and prediction of ischemic tissue volume in the early stage of ischemic stroke. These findings may be important for health care facilities that have limited access to emergency computed tomography scanning for the diagnosis of stroke.
Comparison of gene expression profiles and related pathways in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is one of the main causes of severe pulmonary hypertension. However, despite treatment (pulmonary endarterectomy), in approximately 15–20% of patients, pulmonary vascular resistance and pulmonary arterial pressure continue to increase. To date, little is known about the changes that occur in gene expression in CTEPH. The identification of genes associated with CTEPH may provide insight into the pathogenesis of CTEPH and may aid in diagnosis and treatment. In this study, we analyzed the gene expresion profiles of pulmonary artery endothelial cells from 5 patients with CTEPH and 5 healthy controls using oligonucleotide microarrays. Bioinformatics analyses using the Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG databases were carried out to identify the genes and pathways specifically associated with CTEPH. Signal transduction networks were established to identify the core genes regulating the progression of CTEPH. A number of genes were found to be differentially expressed in the pulmonary artery endothelial cells from patients with CTEPH. In total, 412 GO terms and 113 pathways were found to be associated with our list of genes. All differential gene interactions in the Signal-Net network were analyzed. JAK3, GNA15, MAPK13, ARRB2 and F2R were the most significantly altered. Bioinformatics analysis may help gather and analyze large amounts of data in microarrays by means of rigorous experimental planning, scientific statistical analysis and the collection of complete data. In this study, a novel differential gene expression pattern was constructed. However, further studies are required to identify novel targets for the diagnosis and treatment of CTEPH.
Dendritic development in neocortex of children with mental defect and infantile spasms

The Golgi-Cox method was used to analyze the dendritic spread of pyramidal neurons in middle frontal gyrus of 11 patients with mental defect. Abnormalities in dendritic development were found in five profoundly retarded children at ages one to four years. Four had a history of infantile spasms and an EEG tracing characterized as “hypsarrhythmia” in addition to amentia. Histologic abnormalities included decrease in length of basal dendrites, decreased secondary branches, and—in the miost severely affected—a decrease in branches arising directly frorn the perikaryon. Horizontal and tangential branches of apical dendrites also were reduced in number and length. The method failed to detect abnormalities in frontal cortex from several older retarded individuals. The results suggest that defective growth of cortical dendrites is common in the severely retarded. Limitations of the Golgi method may account for failure to detect abnormalities in less retarded patients and in older patients.
A resonant driver with functionally shared devices for plasma display panels

A sustain circuit with energy recovery and injection circuit is proposed based on reduced number of low-cost and low-rating devices for plasma display panels (PDPs). The proposed driver configures the sustain circuit and the resonant network in such a way that some of circuit components can function for both sustain and energy recovery/injection operations. Due to the semiconductor devices shared in common as well as simplified arrangement, the developed structure can be designed with fewer devices than the conventional approaches with all devices operated individually. Moreover, since the proposed driver is designed with low voltage-rating devices compared with the conventional 2 and 3 level based driver, it can take advantages of semiconductor devices with lower conduction and switching losses as well as cheaper costs. The proposed driver generates such five-level sustain voltage waveforms as a cascaded Weber-type driver, which results in reduced rms values of panel displacement currents and lowered power losses. As a result, the PDP driver presented in this paper can feature reduced number of low voltage rating devices, smaller size, and high efficiency.
Elastic compression stockings for prevention of deep vein thrombosis.

BACKGROUND One of the settings where deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the lower limb and pelvic veins occurs is in hospital with prolonged immobilisation of patients for various surgical and medical illnesses. Using graduated compression stockings (GCS) in these patients has been proposed to decrease the risk of DVT. This is an update of a Cochrane review first published in 2000 and updated in 2003. OBJECTIVES To determine the magnitude of effectiveness of GCS in preventing DVT in various groups of hospitalised patients. SEARCH STRATEGY For this update the Cochrane Peripheral Vascular Diseases Group searched their Specialised Register and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2009, Issue 4) for randomised controlled trials of elastic or graduated compression stockings for prevention of DVT. SELECTION CRITERIA Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) involving GCS alone; or GCS used on a background of any other DVT prophylactic method. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS One author extracted the data, assessed the quality of trials and analysed the results; which were cross-checked and authenticated by a second author. MAIN RESULTS Eighteen RCTs were identified. GCS were applied on the day before surgery or on the day of surgery and were worn up until discharge or until the patients were fully mobile. In the majority of the included studies DVT was identified by the radioactive I(125) uptake test.For GCS alone, eight RCTs were identified involving 1279 analytic units (887 patients). In the treatment group (GCS), of 662 units, 86 developed DVT (13%) in comparison to the control group (without GCS) of 617 units where 161 (26%) developed DVT. The Peto's odds ratio (OR) was 0.35 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.26 to 0.47) with an overall effect favouring treatment with GCS (P < 0.00001). For GCS on a background of another prophylactic method, 10 RCTs were identified involving 1248 analytic units (576 patients). In the treatment group (GCS plus another method), of 621 units, 26 (4%) developed DVT, in the control group (the other method alone), of 627 units, 99 (16%) developed DVT (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.36). The overall effect also favoured treatment with GCS on a background of another DVT prophylactic method (P < 0.00001). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS GCS are effective in diminishing the risk of DVT in hospitalised patients. Data examination also suggests that GCS on a background of another method of prophylaxis is more effective than GCS on its own.
Stereotypes of Norwegian social groups

We present a pilot study and two main studies that address the nature of stereotypes of social groups in Norway within the framework of the Stereotype Content Model (SCM). The first study focused on stereotypes of a wide range of groups across categories such as gender, age, religious conviction, socioeconomic and health status. The second study focused on stereotypes of immigrant groups. Participants (n = 244 and n = 63, respectively) rated the groups on perceived warmth, competence, status, and competition. Results from both studies support the applicability of the SCM in Norway and provides a unique insight into stereotypes of Norwegian social groups.
GOODS NOT WANTED

In societies where the use of computers is pervasive, individuals who resist using the technology are often studied in order to determine how susceptible their views might be to change. This research takes a different approach, focusing not on the non-use of computers as a problem but as an opportunity to explore how the proponents of such views make sense of computers and computer use and to accord respect for, rather than dismissal of, their views. Underpinned by a narrative sense-making approach, the investigation examines older non-users' discursive performances of rejection and the ways in which they draw on and position themselves in relation to dominant and emerging socio-cultural narratives of technology and the ways in which those performances are circumscribed by particular value systems or choice behaviours. Participants drew on three prominent socio-cultural narratives in making sense of computers and in performing rejection: computers benefit older people; society discriminates against non-users; and don't need computers, don't want computers. These three narratives work together to enable non-users to justify their rejection of computer use. The study makes a contribution to the literature by highlighting dimensions of older people's relationships with computers not previously identified, including an appreciation for the complex and often tension-filled process by which determinations of rejection are made.
Involvement of Skeletal Muscle Gene Regulatory Network in Susceptibility to Wound Infection Following Trauma

Despite recent advances in our understanding the pathophysiology of trauma, the basis of the predisposition of trauma patients to infection remains unclear. A Drosophila melanogaster/Pseudomonas aeruginosa injury and infection model was used to identify host genetic components that contribute to the hyper-susceptibility to infection that follows severe trauma. We show that P. aeruginosa compromises skeletal muscle gene (SMG) expression at the injury site to promote infection. We demonstrate that activation of SMG structural components is under the control of cJun-N-terminal Kinase (JNK) Kinase, Hemipterous (Hep), and activation of this pathway promotes local resistance to P. aeruginosa in flies and mice. Our study links SMG expression and function to increased susceptibility to infection, and suggests that P. aeruginosa affects SMG homeostasis locally by restricting SMG expression in injured skeletal muscle tissue. Local potentiation of these host responses, and/or inhibition of their suppression by virulent P. aeruginosa cells, could lead to novel therapies that prevent or treat deleterious and potentially fatal infections in severely injured individuals.
Laser noise in cavity-optomechanical cooling and thermometry

We review and study the roles of quantum and classical fluctuations in recent cavity-optomechanical experiments which have now reached the quantum regime (mechanical phonon occupancy ≲1) using resolved sideband laser cooling. In particular, both the laser noise heating of the mechanical resonator and the form of the optically transduced mechanical spectra, modified by quantum and classical laser noise squashing, are derived under various measurement conditions. Using this theory, we analyze recent ground-state laser cooling and motional sideband asymmetry experiments with nanoscale optomechanical crystal resonators.
Effects of the Interactive Strategies Approach—Extended

To implement Response to Intervention with intermediate-grade struggling readers, there is a need for interventions that are responsive to individual student needs, and sufficiently comprehensive to support the many dimensions of the reading process. This research examined the efficacy of such an intervention, the Interactive Strategies Approach—Extended (ISA-X), which was provided by public school teachers in a daily, one-to-one format to grade 4 struggling readers with individualized education programs. Half the students received the intervention in the fall semester while the others served as a wait-list control group who received the intervention in the spring. After the fall intervention, struggling readers had significantly higher scores than control students on measures of reading comprehension and accuracy; effects on New York State's high-stakes language arts assessment approached significance. Regression analyses showed significant intervention effects on measures of basic reading skills and social studies vocabulary; effects on a measure of fluency were not significant.
End field structures for linear/helical insertion devices

The field integral tolerances required on third generation synchrotron sources are of the order of 10-20 Gcm in the whole gap range of an insertion device. This can be achieved without electromagnet correction by a proper magnetic design of the field termination. The paper describes several such end field terminations to be used for planar undulators. A new termination valid for an APPLE II undulator is presented which produces a field integral variation smaller than 20 Gcm for any useful setting of the magnetic gap and phase. It compares quite favorably with other known type of terminations.
The effectiveness of error correction during oral interaction : experimental studies with English L2 learners in the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia

The current classroom experiments examined the effects of two types of oral corrective feedback (CF), recast and metalinguistic information, during oral production tasks on the learning of English modals (will, can and must). These techniques were compared to an intervention with identical oral production tasks but in which CF was not provided. The study also investigated the extent to which instructional setting (EFL in Saudi Arabia and ESL in the United Kingdom) and learners' attitudes towards CF mediated the effect of CF on learning. Pre-intermediate adult learners of English as a second language (ESL) in the United Kingdom (UK; n=36) and of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Saudi Arabia (SA; n=64) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: metalinguistic information; recast, or task only (no CF). Participants had four sessions within these conditions, over four consecutive weeks, delivered by a trained and experienced EFL teacher (the author). In the UK context, learners’ knowledge was measured, in pre, post and delayed posttests, using a free oral picture description, a timed grammaticality judgment and a written gap fill. In the SA context knowledge was measured by similar written gap fill and the same picture description, but also an elicited imitation, and un-timed grammaticality judgment with explicit knowledge probes. In both contexts, an exit questionnaire (similar to Sheen’s, 2006) was administered after each test to check awareness of the target feature being tested. In addition, an attitudinal questionnaire was used to measure the possible role of participants’ attitude towards error correction and grammatical accuracy. Tests of normality were used to decide whether parametric or non-parametric statistical tests were required. Equivalence between groups at pre-test was checked to determine whether actual scores or gain scores (or ANCOVAs, if parametric tests) should be analysed. The results suggested that both metalinguistic information and recasts can be beneficial for the development of English modals, though effectiveness was influenced by the outcome measures used, the length of time between intervention and test, and the context (UK and SA). Recast and metalinguistic information were generally found to be beneficial in most measures regardless of contexts. In most measures, task only group in the UK had no significant gains but in SA had significant gains. The study indicated that learners had an equal preference for recast and metalinguistic information CF in the EFL context but preference for recast was pronounced in the ESL context.
Embedded : the media at war in Iraq

Embedded is a collection of deeply emotional and highly personal accounts of covering the Iraq War. Many of the worlds top war correspondents and photographers speak candidly about life on the battlefield. Here are articulate and heartfelt descriptions of fear and firefights, of bullets and banalities, of risking death and meeting deadlines. With over sixty interviews conducted in Kuwait and Iraq shortly after many returned home, Katovsky and Carlson allowed these journalists to step outside their professional role as journalists and examine the lethal allure of combat reporting. Here is CBS Evening News correspondent Jim Axelrod discussing the perils of racing to Baghdad while despondent over the death of a television colleague and being unexpectedly comforted by ABC News Nightline's Ted Koppel; Newsweek reporter Scott Johnson unwittingly driving into an ambush and then kicking out the windshield of his bullet-riddled car to escape the Iraqi gunmen; New York Times Baghdad Bureau Chief John Burns's brave refusal to be intimidated by his Iraqi information ministry minders; and many, many more. Each interview in Embedded maps its own personal path and narrative arc, while presenting an emotional window to war and reporting. Taken individually, each offers a unique view of the most-covered war in history. Collectively, Embedded is an eyewitness to history that will do for the war in Iraq what Michael Herr's Dispatches did for Vietnam.
Polish sentence matrix test for speech intelligibility measurement in noise

Abstract The purpose of this study was to develop the Polish sentence matrix test (PSMT) to measure intelligibility of speech presented against a background noise. The PSMT consists of five columns containing: 10 names, 10 verbs, 10 numerals, 10 adjectives, and 10 nouns. Since each word was available as a separate sound file, it was possible to generate different sentences by juxtaposing randomly selected words taken from respective columns. This approach allows 100 000 unique sentences of a fixed grammatical structure to be generated. The speech reception threshold (SRT), i.e. the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) providing 50% speech intelligibility and S50, the slope of an intelligibility function at the SRT point, were shown to be −9.6 dB and 17.1 %/dB, respectively. Note that in this study dB is regarded as dB SNR, otherwise reference is given. PSMT was also evaluated using an adaptive 1-up/ 1-down staircase procedure in investigations with and without participation of an experimenter. No significant differences were shown for SRTs obtained in these investigations. Sumario El propósito de este estudio fue desarrollar la prueba matriz de frases en polaco (PSMT) para medir la inteligibilidad de lenguaje presentado contra ruido de fondo. El PSMT consiste de cinco columnas que contienen: 10 nombres, 10 verbos, 10 numerales, 10 adjetivos y 10 palabras. Dado que cada palabra estaba disponible como un archivo de sonido separado, fue posible generar diferentes frases por medio de la yuxtaposición aleatoria de palabras seleccionadas tomadas de las respectivas columnas. Este enfoque permite la generación de 100.000 frases singulares con una estructura gramatical fija. El umbral de recepción del lenguaje (SRT), p.e. , la tasa de señal-ruido (SNR) brindando el 50% de inteligibilidad del lenguaje, y el S50, la pendiente de una función de inteligibilidad en el punto del SRT, fueron –9.6 dB y 17.1%/dB, respectivamente. Note que en este estudio los dB corresponden a dB SNR, a menos que se brinde otra referencia. También se evaluó el PSMT usando un procedimiento adaptativo en escalera de 1 hacia arriba y 1 hacia abajo, en investigaciones con y sin un experimentador. No se encontraron diferencias significativas para los SRT obtenidos en estas investigaciones.
Heart Rate Changes Due to 5.6-GHz Radiofrequency Radiation: Relation to Average Power Density

Abstract Effects of intermittent exposure to 5.6-GHz radiofrequency radiation (RFR) on heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate were examined in anesthetized rats. During exposure to 60 mW/cm2 which resulted in a 1°C change in colonic temperature, heart rate increased; the values returned to control levels after exposure was discontinued. No changes in mean arterial blood pressure or in respiratory rate were observed. Exposure to 30 mW/cm2 caused no significant changes in heart rate, blood pressure, or respiratory rate. The data indicate that heart rate changes during exposure to 5.6-GHz RFR are related to the average power density applied, and thus to the rate of change in temperature, and not simply to the absolute change in temperature.
Transfer of Responding during Serial Conditioning in the Rat

In three experiments rats were conditioned with the sequence tone-light-food. In the first experiment the source of the light was a bulb located on the wall of the conditioning chamber. Serial conditioning resulted in subjects approaching the bulb during the tone, even though it was not illuminated. The strength of this activity was greater when the tone was intermittently rather than consistently followed by the light. For Experiments 2 and 3 the source of the light was placed in the food magazine, and this resulted in greater magazine activity during the tone when it was intermittently rather than consistently paired with the light. It is suggested that the level of orientation to the light during the tone is, in part, a reflection of the amount of attention paid to the tone. It is further suggested that the tone receives more attention when it is an inaccurate rather than accurate predictor of its consequences.