Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Filling in the gaps: A theoretical grounding for an education programme for adolescent socioemotional and vocational development in Ireland

Since the 1970s, schools in Ireland have offered an optional programme known as ‘Transition Year’ midway through secondary education, when students are typically 15 years old. It lasts one academic year and aims to promote maturity, social development and vocational exploration, and to give students a chance to develop personal and intellectual interests in the absence of high-stakes examination pressure. On returning to more conventional classes, participants are expected to be better prepared to study and better prepared for life beyond school. The evolution of Transition Year over nearly half a century has been driven primarily by committed teachers and particular policy decisions, but, despite increasing uptake, it has lacked a strong theoretical grounding. This has contributed to a measure of public ambivalence and vulnerability to political vicissitudes. This paper reviews the extant literature on Transition Year, situates Transition Year in the context of selected aspects of the psychological literature on socioemotional development, highlights avenues for future research and discusses its relevance to social and emotional learning in global education beyond Ireland.
Performance Evaluation of Structural Similarity Index Metric in Different Colorspaces for HVS Based Assessment of Quality of Colour Images

: The evaluation of visual quality of color images has become very important and challenging task due to explosion of multimedia and graphics content on internet. An image exhibits loss in color information due to introduction of noise, blur, blocking artefacts, channel distortion and also during lossy compression. The primary goal of Image Quality Metric (IQM) is to measure emergence of such distortion and evaluate the image quality where the outcome is validated by its consistency with Human Visual System (HVS). In response to this need, researchers have developed many objective and subjective image quality assessment metrics. But most of the available assessment models measure the quality of color image by using the intensity plane of the image ignoring loss in color. This paper presents performance comparison of evaluation of quality of color image using Structural Similarity Index Metric (SSIM) based on luminance and color information computed in different HVS consistent colorspaces against subjective quality data. Results obtained through experimentation in YCbCr, HSI, YUV, YIQ and CIELab colorspace show that when color information is included in quality assessment, quality score of the metric becomes highly consistent with Human Visual System (HVS). Further it has been observed that SSIM calculated in CIELab colorspace is highly correlated with Differential Mean Opinion Score (DMOS) for all types of distortions used in experimentation.
Effect of board independence on incentive compensation and compensation disclosure : evidence from Europe

My thesis examines how the lack of board-of-director independence affects the structure and disclosure of executive compensation. I find that European companies with more insiders on their boards grant their executives more incentive compensation, after controlling for the level and economic determinants of executive compensation. This effect is more pronounced in countries with less protection for outside shareholders. The companies with more insiders on their boards also disclose more transparent information about executive compensation. Overall, my evidence supports the contracting hypothesis, in which capital market investors understand potential detrimental effects of insiders and drive companies to mitigate these effects through greater incentive compensation and improved compensation disclosure. The evidence is inconsistent with the opportunism hypothesis, in which risk-averse insiders grant themselves more fixed pay and disclose less transparent information about their compensation. Thesis Supervisor: S.P. Kothari Title: Gordon Y Billard Professor of Accounting
Combretastatin A4 disodium phosphate-induced myocardial injury

Histopathological and electrocardiographic features of myocardial lesions induced by combretastatin A4 disodium phosphate (CA4DP) were evaluated, and the relation between myocardial lesions and vascular changes and the direct toxic effect of CA4DP on cardiomyocytes were discussed. We induced myocardial lesions by administration of CA4DP to rats and evaluated myocardial damage by histopathologic examination and electrocardiography. We evaluated blood pressure (BP) of CA4DP-treated rats and effects of CA4DP on cellular impedance-based contractility of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPS-CMs). The results revealed multifocal myocardial necrosis with a predilection for the interventricular septum and subendocardial regions of the apex of the left ventricular wall, injury of capillaries, morphological change of the ST junction, and QT interval prolongation. The histopathological profile of myocardial lesions suggested that CA4DP induced a lack of myocardial blood flow. CA4DP increased the diastolic BP and showed direct effects on hiPS-CMs. These results suggest that CA4DP induces dysfunction of small arteries and capillaries and has direct toxicity in cardiomyocytes. Therefore, it is thought that CA4DP induced capillary and myocardial injury due to collapse of the microcirculation in the myocardium. Moreover, the direct toxic effect of CA4DP on cardiomyocytes induced myocardial lesions in a coordinated manner.
Disruption of cerebellar development: potential complication of extreme prematurity.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Infants with very low birth weight are at high risk for cerebral lesions. Although supratentorial brain damage is a common radiologic finding, posterior fossa pathologies are rare. We studied the morphology of cerebellar involvement in a large series of 28 premature infants born before the 30th week of gestation to define typical patterns and identify possible risk factors for this pathology. METHODS Cranial sonograms were obtained in the early neonatal period. MR imaging was performed between the 2nd month and the 6th year of life. Morphologic patterns of cerebellar involvement were evaluated. RESULTS Three morphologic patterns of cerebellar involvement were recognized: (1) symmetric volume reduction of the cerebellar hemispheres, which were floating immediately beneath the tentorium, and a small vermis with preserved shape; (2) symmetrical reduction in hemispheric volume with an enlarged, balloon-shaped fourth ventricle and a small, deformed vermis; and (3) normal overall cerebellar shape with extensive reduction of its dimensions. A small brain stem with flattened anterior curvature of the pons and loss of supratentorial white matter was present in all patients. CONCLUSION Symmetric cerebellar volume reduction was found as a consequence of extreme prematurity. Selective vulnerability of the developing cerebellum in the window of 24-30 weeks of gestation, combined with several additive perinatal risk factors (eg, hemosiderin deposits) seems to lead to destruction of immature structures and developmental arrest. Therefore, the resulting condition is the consequence of disrupted cerebellar development.
Language in Electronic Negotiations : Patterns in Completed and Uncompleted Negotiations

Negotiation is a special and interesting type of interpersonal communication. It occurs in political, business, casual settings. In electronic negotiations, language is the negotiators’ principal means of reaching a deal. They use language to persuade, threat and query. An electronic negotiation support system has been gathering textual data. We study these data to identify language patterns that indicate the different roles the negotiators play, and the strategies they apply in negotiation. We observe that role-dependent language patterns do exist. We support this observation by the results of classifying negotiation textual data into role-defined classes and by statistical information.
The pan-deacetylase inhibitor panobinostat affects angiogenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma models via modulation of CTGF expression.

Post-translational modifications of chromatin components are significantly involved in the regulation of tumor suppressor gene and oncogene expression. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is an epigenetically regulated growth factor with functions in angiogenesis and cell-matrix interactions and plays a pivotal role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The pharmacologic inhibition of histone and protein deacetylases represents a new approach to interfere with pathways of apoptosis and angiogenesis. We investigated the effect of the pan-deacetylase inhibitor panobinostat (LBH589) on human HCC cell lines HepG2 (p53wt) and Hep3B (p53null) and in a subcutaneous xenograft model and explored the influence on angiogenesis. Specimens were characterized by quantitative real-time PCR. Protein was separated for western blotting against CTGF, VEGF, VEGF receptor-1 (VEGFR-1/FLT-1), VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR-2/KDR), MAPK and phospho-MAPK. In vivo, HepG2 cells were xenografted to NMRI mice and treated with daily i.p. injections of 10 mg/kg panobinostat. After 1, 7 and 28 days, real-time PCR was performed. Immunohistochemistry and western blotting were examined after 28 days. An increased significant expression of CTGF was only seen after 24 h treatment with 0.1 µM panobinostat in HepG2 cells and Hep3B cells, whereas after 72 h treatment CTGF expression clearly decreased. In the xenografts, treatment with panobinostat showed a minimal CTGF expression after 1 day and 4 weeks, respectively. In vitro as well as in vivo, VEGF was not affected by panobinostat treatment at any time. In conclusion, panobinostat influences extracellular signaling cascades via CTGF-dependent pathways.
Energy-based Lyapunov functions for forced Hamiltonian systems with dissipation

We propose a constructive procedure to modify the total energy function of forced Hamiltonian systems with dissipation in order to generate Lyapunov functions for non-zero equilibria. A key step in the procedure, which is motivated from energy-balance considerations standard in network modeling of physical systems, is to embed the system into a larger Hamiltonian system for which a series of Casimir functions (i.e., first integrals) can be easily constructed. For linear systems the resulting Lyapunov function is the incremental energy, thus our derivations provide a physical explanation to it. An easily verifiable necessary and sufficient condition for the applicability of the technique in the general nonlinear case is given. Some examples that illustrate the method are given.
Effects of Examiner's Verbal Feedback on Nursing Students' Accuracy of Self-assessment, Emotional Response, Self-efficacy, and Perceived Quality of Feedback in Skill Performance Assessment

Purpose: In this study, effects of positive, negative, and mixed verbal feedback were examined for accuracy of self-assessment, emotional responses, self-efficacy, and perceived quality of feedback in skill performance assessment. Methods: Participants were a convenience sample of 104 second-year nursing students who had completed their fundamentals of nursing class. Participants were assigned randomly to a positive, a negative or a mixed feedback group. All participants completed the performance measure and then received the assigned the type of feedback from an evaluator. After delivery of feedback, they assessed their own performance using the same sheet as the evaluator and completed the survey for emotional response, self-efficacy for learning, and quality of feedback. Results: There were no significant differences in accuracy of self-assessment and perceived quality of feedback among the three groups (x=4.74, p=.094; x=3.30, p=.192, respectively). The negative feedback group had significantly lower self-efficacy and positive emotions and more negative emotions than the other two groups (F=9.43, p=.009; x=16.29, p<.001; x=5.69, p=.005, respectively). Conclusion: Negative feedback can affect emotions and motivations for learning in nursing students and may interfere with the effectiveness of feedback, so instructors should pay more attention when providing negative feedback. Mixed feedback with an effect similar to positive feedback could be an alternative.
Nucleated Red Blood Cells as Predictors of All-Cause Mortality in Cardiac Intensive Care Unit Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background The presence of nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs) in the peripheral blood of critically ill patients is associated with a poorer prognosis, though data on cardiovascular critical care patients is lacking. The aim of the present study was to assess the role of NRBCs as a predictor of intensive care unit (ICU) and in hospital all-cause mortality among cardiologic patients. Methods NRBCs were measured daily in consecutive cardiac ICU patients, including individuals with both coronary and non-coronary acute cardiac care. We excluded patients younger than 18 years, with cancer or hematological disease, on glucocorticoid therapy, those that were readmitted after hospital discharge and patients who died in the first 24 hours after admission. We performed a multiple logistic analysis to identify independent predictors of mortality. Results We included 152 patients (60.6 ± 16.8 years, 51.8% female, median ICU stay of 7 [4–11] days). The prevalence of NRBCs was 54.6% (83/152). The presence of NRBC was associated with a higher ICU mortality (49.4% vs 21.7%, P<0.001) as well as in-hospital mortality (61.4% vs 33.3%, p = 0.001). NRBC were equally associated with mortality among coronary disease (64.71% vs 32.5% [OR 3.80; 95%CI: 1.45–10.0; p = 0.007]) and non-coronary disease patients (61.45% vs 33.3% [OR 3.19; 95%CI: 1.63–6.21; p<0.001]). In a multivariable model, the inclusion of NRBC to the APACHE II score resulted in a significant improvement in the discrimination (p = 0.01). Conclusions NRBC are predictors of all-cause in-hospital mortality in patients admitted to a cardiac ICU. This predictive value is independent and complementary to the well validated APACHE II score.
AFLP Genome Scanning Reveals Divergent Selection in Natural Populations of Liriodendron chinense (Magnoliaceae) along a Latitudinal Transect

Understanding adaptive genetic variation and its relation to environmental factors are important for understanding how plants adapt to climate change and for managing genetic resources. Genome scans for the loci exhibiting either notably high or low levels of population differentiation (outlier loci) provide one means of identifying genomic regions possibly associated with convergent or divergent selection. In this study, we combined Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) genome scan and environmental association analysis to test for signals of natural selection in natural populations of Liriodendron chinense (Chinese Tulip Tree; Magnoliaceae) along a latitudinal transect. We genotyped 276 individuals from 11 populations of L. chinense using 987 AFLP markers. Both frequency-based (Dfdist and BayeScan) and correlation-based (MLM) methods were applied to detect outlier loci. Our analyses recovered both neutral and potentially adaptive genetic differentiation among populations of L. chinense. We found moderate genetic diversity within populations and high genetic differentiation among populations with reduced genetic diversity toward the periphery of the species ranges. Nine AFLP marker loci showed evidence of being outliers for population differentiation for both detection methods. Of these, six were strongly associated with at least one climate factor. Temperature, precipitation, and radiation were found to be three important factors influencing local adaptation of L. chinense. The outlier AFLP loci are likely not the target of natural selection, but the neighboring genes of these loci might be involved in local adaptation. Hence, these candidates should be validated by further studies.
Learning to identify emotions in text

This paper describes experiments concerned with the automatic analysis of emotions in text. We describe the construction of a large data set annotated for six basic emotions: ANGER, DISGUST, FEAR, JOY, SADNESS and SURPRISE, and we propose and evaluate several knowledge-based and corpusbased methods for the automatic identification of these emotions in text.
Self-Similarity and Scaling Behavior of Scale-free Gravitational Clustering

We determine the scaling properties of the probability distribution of the smoothed density field in {ital N}-body simulations of expanding universes with scale-free initial power-spectra, {l_angle}{vert_bar}{delta}{sub {ital k}}{vert_bar}{sup 2}{r_angle}{proportional_to}{ital k}{sup {ital n}}, with particular attention to the predictions of the stable clustering hypothesis. We concentrate our analysis on the ratios {ital S}{sub {ital Q}}({ital l}){equivalent_to}{bar {xi}}{sub {ital Q}}/{bar {xi}}{sup {ital Q}-1}{sub 2}, where {bar {xi}{sub Q}} is the average {ital Q}-body correlation function over a cell of radius l. According to the stable clustering hypothesis, {ital S{sub Q}} should not depend on scale. We performed measurements for {ital Q}{le}5. The behavior of the higher order correlations is studied through that of the void probability distribution, {ital P}{sub 0}(l), which is the probability of finding an empty cell of radius l. If the stable clustering hypothesis applies, the function {ital P}{sub 0} should also exhibit remarkable scaling properties. In our analysis, we take carefully into account various misleading effects, such as initial grid contamination, loss of dynamics due to the short-range softening of the forces, and finite volume size of our simulations. Only after correcting for the latter do we find agreement of the measured {ital S{sub Q}} with the expectedmore » self-similar behavior. Otherwise, {ital P}{sub 0} is only weakly sensitive to such effects and closely follows the expected self-similar behavior. The ratios {ital S{sub Q}} exhibit two plateaus separated by a smooth transition when {bar {xi}}{sub 2}(l){approximately}1. In the weakly nonlinear regime, {bar {xi}}{sub 2}{approx_lt}1, the results are in agreement with the predictions of perturbation theory. In the strongly nonlinear regime, {bar {xi}}{sub 2}{approx_gt}1, the {ital S{sub Q}} values are larger than in the weakly nonlinear regime, and increasingly so with -{ital n}. « less
Core of convex distortions of a probability on a non atomic space

his paper characterizes the core of a differentiable convex dis-tortion of a probability measure on a non atomic space by identifying it withthe set of densities which dominate the derivative of the distortion, for secondorder stochastic dominance. Furthermore the densities that have the samedistribution as the derivative of the distortion are the extreme points of thecore. These results are applied to the differentiability of a Choquet integralwith respect to a distortion of a probability measure (respectively the dif-ferentiability of a Yaari’s or Rank Dependent Expected utility function). AChoquet integral is differentiable atxif and only ifxhas a strictly increasingquantile function. The superdifferential of a Choquet integral at any point isthen fully characterized. Examples of uses of these results in simple modelswhere some agent is a Rank Dependent Expected Utility (RDEU) maximizerare then given. In particular, efficient risk sharing among an expected utilitymaximizer and a RDEU maximizer and among two RDEU maximizers ischaracterized
Family Support Groups for Family Members of Mentally Ill Offenders: Therapeutic Factors

This study investigates therapeutic factors of a Family Support Group (FSG) intervention for family members of mentally ill offenders. Seventeen family members completed the Group Therapeutic Factors-Client Questionnaire' (GTF-CQ-28) during four sessions of two FSGs. Results indicate that family members experienced the following therapeutic factors over the course of treatment: the relational climate, interactional confirmation, expressing and experiencing mutual positive feelings, forgetting own problems, hope from seeing progress in others, guidance from therapists, and getting interpersonal feedback treatment. The therapeutic factors, including learning by observation, support from the group, and universality of problems, correlated with a decrease in self-blame, improved emotional well-being, and experiencing less loss of control over one's life, respectively. Further, family members were satisfied with what the FSG has provided for them personally and for the relation with their relative. Finally, clinical implications of the FSG are discussed. The study sheds light on valuable therapeutic factors within an FSG and the important role of therapists.
Use it or lose it: citations predict the continued online availability of published bioinformatics resources

Abstract Scientific Data Analysis Resources (SDARs) such as bioinformatics programs, web servers and databases are integral to modern science, but previous studies have shown that the Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) linking to them decay in a time-dependent manner, with ∼27% decayed to date. Because SDARs are overrepresented among science's most cited papers over the past 20 years, loss of widely used SDARs could be particularly disruptive to scientific research. We identified URLs in MEDLINE abstracts and used crowdsourcing to identify which reported the creation of SDARs. We used the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine to approximate ‘death dates’ and calculate citations/year over each SDAR's lifespan. At first glance, decayed SDARs did not significantly differ from available SDARs in their average citations per year over their lifespan or journal impact factor (JIF). But the most cited SDARs were 94% likely to be relocated to another URL versus only 34% of uncited ones. Taking relocation into account, we find that citations are the strongest predictors of current online availability after time since publication, and JIF modestly predictive. This suggests that URL decay is a general, persistent phenomenon affecting all URLs, but the most useful/recognized SDARs are more likely to persist.
Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce Is Mauritius Ready to E-bank? from a Customer and Banking Perspective

The objective of the paper is to analyse the supply and demand for internet banking in a small island economy of Mauritius. The study first probes into the extent to which internet banking is adopted among Mauritians and investigates the factors that drive the use of this new delivery channel. We examine whether the adoption of internet banking is influenced by consumer individual characteristics as well as perceived ease of use, perceived security and privacy and reluctance to change. Second, we analyse the impact of internet banking on banks' performance and the hurdles they encounter in encouraging clients to use this new technology. Our consumer survey covers a sample of 400 individuals of different age groups and educational levels in both urban and rural areas. The second survey focuses on the two largest banks in Mauritius. Logistic regression method to survey data was used. Our results reveal that perceived ease of use and perceived security and privacy were important factors that influence the use of internet banking among customers. However, reluctance to change is a major obstacle to the use of internet banking. This problem has been further encountered by banks in encouraging customers' adoption of their internet banking service.