Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Investigating the Status of Early Numeracy Skills in Bilingual Dual Language Learner Latino Children Attending Head Start and the Association with Parent Demographic Characteristics

ion Recognition that many different things may be counted 4+ Order-irrelevance Understanding that the same total number of objects exists within a set regardless of the order in which the objects are counted 4+ Additionally at this age, children use the names of the numbers in the number word list, though these words are used to count and describe objects in a rote memorization fashion rather than in a knowingly meaningful way. Between the ages of two and three, children are able to use the cardinality principle to count to six reliably (Cross, Woods, & Schweingruber, 2009). As children begin to progress from three to four years of age, they are able to use the cardinality principle to begin working on the teen and 20 numbers, but reliably count to 10 (Cross, Woods, & Schweingruber, 2009).
Analysis of Multiresolution Image Denoising Schemes Using Generalized Gaussian and Complexity Priors

Research on universal and minimax wavelet shrinkage and thresholding methods has demonstrated near-ideal estimation performance in various asymptotic frameworks. However, image processing practice has shown that universal thresholding methods are outperformed by simple Bayesian estimators assuming independent wavelet coefficients and heavy-tailed priors such as generalized Gaussian distributions (GGDs). In this paper, we investigate various connections between shrinkage methods and maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation using such priors. In particular, we state a simple condition under which MAP estimates are sparse. We also introduce a new family of complexity priors based upon Rissanen's universal prior on integers. One particular estimator in this class outperforms conventional estimators based on earlier applications of the minimum description length (MDL) principle. We develop analytical expressions for the shrinkage rules implied by GGD and complexity priors. This allows us to show the equivalence between universal hard thresholding, MAP estimation using a very heavy-tailed GGD, and MDL estimation using one of the new complexity priors. Theoretical analysis supported by numerous practical experiments shows the robustness of some of these estimates against mis-specifications of the prior-a basic concern in image processing applications.
Female Socialization: How Daughters Affect Their Legislator Fathers' Voting on Women's Issues

Parenting daughters, sociologists have shown, increases feminist sympathies. I test the hypothesis that children, much like neighbors or peers, can influence parental behavior. I demonstrate that conditional on total number of children, each daughter increases a congress person's propensity to vote liberally, particularly on reproductive rights issues. The results identify an important (and previously omitted) explanatory variable in the literature on congressional decision making. Additionally the paper highlights the relevance of child to parent behavioral influence.
T‐Cell Stimulation with Purified Mycobacterial Antigens in Patients and Healthy Subjects infected with Mycobacterium leprae: Secreted Antigen 85 is Another Immunodominant Antigen

Peripheral blood leucocytes from 9 paucibacillary and 12 multibacillary leprosy patients, from 18 healthy controls and from 34 healthy leprosy contacts were stimulated with three mycobacterial heat shock proteins with respective molecular weights of 70,65 and 18 kDa and with the secreted 30–32 kDa protein, also called antigen 85. Antigen 85 was found to be the most powerful T‐cell antigen (as measured by lymphoproliferation and IFN‐γ secretion), eliciting a positive response in all (100%) paucibacillary patients and in all lepromin‐positive controls and contacts. The three heat shock proteins (hsp) were less active T‐cell stimuli. Reactivity to the 70 kDa hsp was found in only 44% of the paucibacillary patients, in 80% of the lepromin‐positive controls and in 60% of the lepromin‐positive leprosy contacts. The 65 kDa hsp stimulated T cells in 89% of the paucibacillary patients and in 80% of the lepromin‐positive controls and contacts. Responsiveness to the 18 kDa hsp, finally, was clearly more frequent in tuberculoid leprosy patients (78%) than in lepromin‐positive controls (40%) or lepromin‐positive leprosy contacts (4%). T‐cell reactivity of 8 lepromin‐negative controls, of 9 lepromin‐negative contacts and of 12 multibacillary leprosy patients was low to all the antigens tested. Although proliferative and IFN‐γ responses were generally closely related, some subjects demonstrated a dissociation of these two immune parameters. Our data confirm previous findings on the powerful T‐cell stimulatory properties of antigen 85 during M. leprae infection and suggest that this antigen is indeed a potentially protective T‐cell immunogen.
Flexible FETs using ultrathin Si microwires embedded in solution processed dielectric and metal layers

This work presents a novel manufacturing route for obtaining high performance bendable field effect transistors (FET) by embedding silicon (Si) microwires (2.5 μm thick) in layers of solution-processed dielectric and metallic layers. The objective of this study is to explore heterogeneous integration of Si with polymers and to exploit the benefits of both microelectronics and printing technologies. Arrays of Si microwires are developed on silicon on insulator (SOI) wafers and transfer printed to polyimide (PI) substrate through a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) carrier stamp. Following the transfer printing of Si microwires, two different processing steps were developed to obtain top gate top contact and back gate top contact FETs. Electrical characterizations indicate devices having mobility as high as 117.5 cm2 V−1 s−1. The fabricated devices were also modeled using SILVACO Atlas. Simulation results show a trend in the electrical response similar to that of experimental results. In addition, a cyclic test was performed to demonstrate the reliability and mechanical robustness of the Si μ-wires on flexible substrates.
Voice and swallowing in patients enrolled in a larynx preservation trial.

BACKGROUND The main goals of larynx preservation protocols are preservation of a functional larynx with intact voice and maintenance of normal deglutition. However, few studies have addressed functional outcomes. OBJECTIVES To evaluate voice and swallowing in patients enrolled in a larynx preservation protocol. DESIGN AND SETTING Acoustic analysis of 15 patients and videofluoroscopic evaluation of 14 patients who underwent chemoradiotherapy in an attempt to preserve the larynx. PATIENTS Forty-three patients with larynx or hypopharynx squamous cell carcinomas were treated with weekly paclitaxel (30 mg/m2) and cisplatin (20 mg/m2) concurrent to radiotherapy (180-rad/d fraction [1.8 Gy] to 7040 rad [70.4 Gy]). Voice was analyzed perceptually and acoustically in 15 patients. Videofluoroscopic evaluation of swallowing was performed in 14 patients, focusing on oropharyngeal motility disorders, stasis, laryngeal penetration, aspiration, and dysphagia severity. RESULTS Vocal analysis produced normal results in 1 patient, mild dysphonia in 4, moderate dysphonia in 6, and severe dysphonia in 4. The mean fundamental frequency for acoustic analysis was 131.4 Hz for men and 109.8 Hz for women. Acoustic measures of perturbation and noise were above the reference limits, indicating changes in the voice signal. Swallowing analysis showed inefficient bolus preparation in 13 patients and changes in the bolus propulsion in 12. Stasis was observed in all areas of the oropharynx. Five patients had reduction in laryngeal elevation, and 12 had stasis in the hypopharynx. Five patients presented with silent aspiration. We detected functional swallowing in 3 patients, mild dysphagia in 7, mild or moderate dysphagia in 2, and severe dysphagia in 2. CONCLUSIONS Laryngeal preservation resulted in voice and swallowing abnormalities, but they tend to be mild to moderate, allowing intelligible communication and efficient swallowing in most patients.
Treatment of post-keratoplasty astigmatism by topography supported customized laser ablation.

PURPOSE To evaluate the clinical and optical efficiency of topography modulated customized corneal ablations for irregular corneal astigmatism. MATERIAL & METHODS Sixteen eyes of 16 patients with iatrogenic corneal astigmatism (post keratoplasty) were consecutively included. Based on preoperative corneal topographic measurements height deviations from a spherical corneal shape were calculated and transferred to a flying-spot excimer laser. Photo-refractive keratectomy of the topographic irregularities was then performed. Clinical and optical efficiency was evaluated by best corrected visual acuity and by computation of corneal wavefront aberrations before and up to one year after treatment. Wavefront aberrations were decomposed by Zernike polynomial analysis. RESULTS Before treatment the average best-corrected visual acuity was 0.23. Three and 12 months after PRK the average best-corrected visual acuity had increased to 0.37 (p<0.05) and 0.45 (p<0.05), respectively. Corneal wavefront aberrations (root-mean-square) were 3.35 before surgery and 1.88 (p<0.05) and 1.51 (p<0.05) at three and 12 months after treatment. Zernike polynomial decomposition of the wavefront aberrations revealed that regular corneal astigmatism was the most important aberration component before and after surgery. Regular astigmatism was significantly decreased by the procedure, whereas coma, spherical aberrations, and higher-order aberrations were not reduced significantly. CONCLUSION Topography modulated photorefractive keratectomy of highly astigmatic corneal grafts can improve best corrected visual acuity and reduce corneal wavefront aberrations. Even in apparently irregular topographic astigmatism, regular astigmatic wavefront aberration may be the most important contributor to wavefront errors.
LDL particle size in relation to intima‐media thickness and plaque occurrence in the carotid and femoral arteries in patients with hypercholesterolaemia

Abstract. Hulthe J, Wiklund O, Bondjers G, Wikstrand J (Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg University, Gothenburg, Sweden). LDL particle size in relation to intima‐media thickness and plaque occurrence in the carotid and femoral arteries in patients with hypercholesterolaemia. J Intern Med 2000; 248: 42–52.
L1 transfer effects in L2 grammatical gender processing of late bilinguals

i Acknowledgments/Danksagung . ii List of abbreviations . iii 0. Introduction . 1 1. Age of acquisition effects in L1 and L2 learning . 5 1.1 The critical period hypothesis . 5 1.2 L2 acquisition . 6 1.3 AoA effects in different language domains . 10 1.3.1 Behavioral studies . 10 1.3.2 ERP studies . 12 1.4 The role of proficiency . 16 1.4. 1 High-proficient late L2 learners perform like natives . 16 1.4. 2 Changes in the course of L2 acquisition . 18 1.5 Models explaining AoA effects . 20 1.5. 1 The Declarative/Procedural Model . 20 1.5. 2 The Competition Model . 23 2. The difficulty of grammatical gender. 29 2.1 L2 gender is difficult for late learners . 29 2.2 Factors affecting L2 (gender) processing . 32 3. L1 transfer effects in L2 lexicon, (morpho)syntax, and grammatical gender . 38 3.1 Lexical competition and transfer . 38 3.2 L1 transfer of (morpho)syntax . 40 3.2.1 L1 transfer of syntax . 40 3.2.2 L1 transfer of morphology/morphosyntax . 42 3.3 L1 grammatical gender transfer . 43 3.3.1 General L1 influences . 44 3.3.2 Gender congruency effects . 47 4. Experiment 1 . 60 4.
Dissolution Dominating Calcification Process in Polar Pteropods Close to the Point of Aragonite Undersaturation

Thecosome pteropods are abundant upper-ocean zooplankton that build aragonite shells. Ocean acidification results in the lowering of aragonite saturation levels in the surface layers, and several incubation studies have shown that rates of calcification in these organisms decrease as a result. This study provides a weight-specific net calcification rate function for thecosome pteropods that includes both rates of dissolution and calcification over a range of plausible future aragonite saturation states (Ωar). We measured gross dissolution in the pteropod Limacina helicina antarctica in the Scotia Sea (Southern Ocean) by incubating living specimens across a range of aragonite saturation states for a maximum of 14 days. Specimens started dissolving almost immediately upon exposure to undersaturated conditions (Ωar∼0.8), losing 1.4% of shell mass per day. The observed rate of gross dissolution was different from that predicted by rate law kinetics of aragonite dissolution, in being higher at Ωar levels slightly above 1 and lower at Ωar levels of between 1 and 0.8. This indicates that shell mass is affected by even transitional levels of saturation, but there is, nevertheless, some partial means of protection for shells when in undersaturated conditions. A function for gross dissolution against Ωar derived from the present observations was compared to a function for gross calcification derived by a different study, and showed that dissolution became the dominating process even at Ωar levels close to 1, with net shell growth ceasing at an Ωar of 1.03. Gross dissolution increasingly dominated net change in shell mass as saturation levels decreased below 1. As well as influencing their viability, such dissolution of pteropod shells in the surface layers will result in slower sinking velocities and decreased carbon and carbonate fluxes to the deep ocean.
Breastfeeding Promotion Plan in Madrid, Spain

Background: Promotion and protection of breastfeeding is a public health objective. In April 2009, health authorities in the Madrid region in central Spain signed a collaboration agreement with The United Nations Children’s Fund and created a breastfeeding committee. Objective: To report the creation and implementation of a plan to promote and improve the quality of breastfeeding care in public hospitals in the region of Madrid, according to the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) standards. Methods: The action plan included institutional commitment; creation of a breastfeeding committee in each hospital; outcome analyses, staff training, creation of educational materials; and dissemination of activities. The plan was adopted by the 19 non-BFHI-designated public maternity units in the Madrid region. Each hospital completed a modified version of the World Health Organization self-assessment questionnaire in 2009 (pre-intervention) and again in 2011. Results: Thirteen maternity units (68.4%) established a breastfeeding committee, and 32 months after implementation of the plan, the other 6 hospitals have created one. Nine training courses have been carried out to train professional experts on breastfeeding as trainers. The 271 trainers provided 18-hour breastfeeding courses for 1423 professionals. In 2009, there was only 1 BFHI-accredited hospital. Currently, 52.6% of the other 19 hospitals have some level of accreditation, and 2 are fully accredited. Conclusions: An intervention to improve the quality of breastfeeding care based on an organized regional approach to the BFHI was useful for BFHI implementation.
End-of-Life Experiences and the Dying Process in a Gloucestershire Nursing Home as Reported by Nurses and Care Assistants

This article presents an interim study into the end-of-life experiences of elderly residents in a Gloucestershire nursing home as reported by nurses and care assistants. It draws comparisons between the experiences of an end-of-life experiences pilot study conducted with the Camden Palliative Care Team in the United Kingdom with those of the nursing home staff to consider whether the dying experience of elderly nursing home residents is the same as those whose lives are foreshortened through terminal illness. It draws the conclusion that elderly residents have end-of-life experiences similar to those described in the Camden pilot study. It also examines the effect that end-of-life experiences have on the carers and reflects on possible needs for specialized training and support to deal with such existential issues.
Cubic splines and approximate solution of singular integral equations

Of concern here is the numerical solution of singular integral equations of Cauchy type; i.e., equations involving principal value integrals. The unknown function is expressed as the product of an appropriate weight function and a cubic spline. The problem is reduced to a system of linear algebraic equations which is solved for the approximate values of the function at the knots. An estimate is provided for the maximum error of the approximate solution. Numerical results from the spline method are compared with those obtained using other methods.
Teaching with the Brain in Mind, 2nd Edition

Spend 10 percent of the total time to prepare learners and create an optimal environment for learning before the introduction of new material. Spend 80 percent of the time focused on the new material, using five key strategies: Engage learners to develop an attentional bias; frame learning to make it relevant and compelling; provide opportunities for students to acquire the new knowledge and skills; elaborate and deepen the learning through time for feedback and active processing; and connect the learning to other content areas and to personal experiences and interests. Spend the final 10 percent of the time to help students settle the learning by passive processing and rehearsal of the learning by using it.
Epidemiology and genetic aspects of multiple sclerosis in India

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system with a complex pathophysiology. Considered a rare disease in India in the past, studies over time suggest an increase in subjects with MS in India, although the observations are limited by the lack of formally conducted epidemiological studies and the absence of a nationwide registry. The current World Health Organization (WHO) Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF) "Atlas of MS" 2013 estimates a prevalence rate of 5-20 per 100,000, which also seems an underestimate. Although there have been reports of phenotypic differences between MS in Indians and the Western counterparts, recent studies report a reasonable similarity in disease types and characteristics. A few studies on the genetics of MS have been reported, including human leukocyte antigen (HLA) associations and non-major histopathology complex (MHC) disease loci. The current review discusses the pivotal studies of the past, newer observations on MS from India, and the need for a national registry.
The Trouble with /h/: Evidence from ERPs

Recent work on second language (L2) phonological acquisition has argued that the relative ease and difficulty that adult L2 learners encounter with particular novel segments can be attributed to the underlying inventory of phonological features required to represent contrasts in the learner’s first language (L1): segments which present difficulty in acquisition are precisely those whose representations require features that are not supplied by the L1 (Brown, 1997, 2000). Brown proposes that this inability to construct target-like representations for the new segments results in an inability to perceive contrast. In Brown’s view, the difficulty that native Japanese speakers encounter with the novel English /l/ vs. /r/ contrast (Yamada, 1995) is due to the absence of the feature [coronal] from underspecified inputs in the Japanese grammar; [coronal] is required for the representation of /l/ in English (Brown, 1997, 2000). Native Chinese speakers, on the other hand, show improvement with increasing proficiency on this novel contrast as the Chinese grammar does supply all the necessary features for the representation of /l/: crucially, the Chinese phonemic inventory contains sub-coronal contrasts, thereby implicating the presence of [coronal] in the grammar (Brown, 1997, 2000). Under this approach, new segments whose representations require a subset of available L1 features are predicted to be acquirable. This seems to be at odds, however, with the observation that native French speakers encounter a great deal of difficulty with the phoneme /h/ in acquiring English: evidence from production shows that it may be either omitted or inserted, as in (1) (Janda & Auger, 1992). The presence of both types of errors for any given speaker suggests that a perceptual problem is at fault; we will return to this in section 2.1 below.
Do Choices Affect Preferences? Some Doubts and New Evidence

Recent research is exploring the case for choice-induced changes in preferences using the free-choice paradigm of Brehm (1956). Participants are faced with a choice between items that they have given the same rating of liking, two items at a time, and it is found that an item not chosen in one choice has a lower tendency of being chosen in a subsequent choice. This tendency is interpreted as evidence for choice-induced changes in preferences. I argue that this interpretation of the evidence is invalid. Furthermore, I report a novel experiment in which participants were specifically asked to compare the items, allowing for a consistent interpretation of the evidence. I find no evidence of choice-induced changes in preferences after a choice between items where one was viewed as more attractive than the other, but potentially some weak evidence of changes in preferences after a choice between items viewed as equally attractive.
Development and Validation of the Impediments to Change Scale - Educational Version : A Study of Children and Adolescents With Emotional Disturbance

This study reviewed the development of the Impediments to Change Scale: Educational Version and evaluated its use with children and adolescents identified as having an Emotional Disturbance (ED) according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The investigator examined the scale‟s internal consistency and conducted a hierarchical cluster analysis to identify indices related to “impediments of change. ” The objective for the Impediments to Change Scale: Educational Version is to offer a clinically useful instrument to assist in identifying risk factors that impede a student‟s progress in his or her educational program. Pending future research, this tool has the potential to furnish needed information to create targeted and efficient intervention practices aimed at facilitating behavioral and academic change. Impediments to Change Scale vi Table of
Electrophoretic characterisation of the outer membrane proteins of Yersinia pestis isolated in north-east Brazil

SUMMARY The outer membrane proteins of 38 Yersinia pestis isolates from all known plague foci of north-east Brazil were analysed by SDS-PAGE. Approximately 20 bands were consistently found in all strains analysed and 11 were selected for comparative studies. Although qualitative differences among the electrophoretic profiles of outer membrane proteins of wild Y. pestis isolates were not observed, quantitative alterations were clearly noted for most of these proteins. No particular quantitative alteration of the electrophoretic profile of outer membrane proteins could be associated with the period of isolation and geographic origin of the isolates. The 64 kDa outer membrane protein was significantly expressed in higher amounts among Y. pestis strains isolated from a recent plague outbreak. The possible use of electrophoretic profiles of outer membrane proteins of wild Y. pestis isolates as a tool for epidemiological studies and for the analysis of virulence determinants is discussed.
Tweet Author Location Impacts on Tweet Credibility

We investigate how certain features affect user perceptions of the credibility of tweets. Using a crowd sourcing experiment, we found that users perceive the credibility of tweets is impacted more by some features than by others. Most notably, we discover that displaying the location of certain types of tweets causes users viewing these tweets to perceive the tweets as more credible.